Myostatin: Expanding horizons

AbstractMyostatin is a secreted growth and differentiation factor that belongs to the TGF‐β superfamily. Myostatin is predominantly synthesized and expressed in skeletal muscle and thus exerts a huge impact on muscle growth and function. In keeping with its negative role in myogenesis, myostatin expression is tightly regulated at several levels including epigenetic, transcriptional, post‐transcriptional, and post‐translational. New revelations regarding myostatin regulation also offer mechanisms that could be exploited for developing myostatin antagonists. Increasingly, it is becoming clearer that besides its conventional role in muscle, myostatin plays a critical role in metabolism. Hence, molecular mechanisms by which myostatin regulates several key metabolic processes need to be further explored. © 2015 IUBMB Life, 67(8):589–600, 2015