STAT3 signaling controls satellite cell expansion and skeletal muscle repair.

The progressive loss of muscle regenerative capacity with age or disease results in part from a decline in the number and function of satellite cells, the direct cellular contributors to muscle repair. However, little is known about the molecular effectors underlying satellite cell impairment and depletion. Elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), are associated with both age-related and muscle-wasting conditions.

JAK/STAT3 pathway inhibition blocks skeletal muscle wasting downstream of IL-6 and in experimental cancer cachexia.

Cachexia, the metabolic dysregulation leading to sustained loss of muscle and adipose tissue, is a devastating complication of cancer and other chronic diseases. Interleukin-6 and related cytokines are associated with muscle wasting in clinical and experimental cachexia, although the mechanisms by which they might induce muscle wasting are unknown. One pathway activated strongly by IL-6 family ligands is the JAK/STAT3 pathway, the function of which has not been evaluated in regulation of skeletal muscle mass.

Acute inhibition of myostatin-family proteins preserves skeletal muscle in mouse models of cancer cachexia.

Cachexia, progressive loss of fat and muscle mass despite adequate nutrition, is a devastating complication of cancer associated with poor quality of life and increased mortality. Myostatin is a potent tonic muscle growth inhibitor. We tested how myostatin inhibition might influence cancer cachexia using genetic and pharmacological approaches.

Intron 1 inversion mutation among Turkish hemophilia A patients.

Hemophilia A is an X-linked bleeding disorder resulting mostly from heterogeneous point mutations in the factor VIII (F8) gene. Small/large gene deletions, insertions and gross gene rearrangements underlie the molecular pathogenesis of the disease. Two large inversion mutations due to intrachromosomal recombinations between inverted repeats found in intronic sequences and upstream regions of the F8 gene result in severe hemophilia A.