Selective myostatin inhibitor - P AH-A: effects of in ovo administration on skeletal muscle development in chickens
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Authors
Snider, Brittany A.
Issue Date
2007
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
The commercial meat industry is a valuable component of the United States
economy, and scientists have spent decades investigating methods for improving muscle
production in agricultural animals. A breakthrough in the exploration of muscle
development occurred in 1997 with the identificat ion of myostatin, a negative regulator
of skeletal muscle growth (McPherron et ai, 1997). Inhibition of myostatin through
genetic alteration, the use of monoclonal anti-myostatin antibodies, and treatments of a
soluble form of the activin type II receptor protein are effective methods for increasing
muscle production in mice and poultry. The purpose of our study was to investigate
effects of Pfizer Animal Health-Compound A (PAH-A), a selective myostatin inhibitor,
on skeletal muscle production in broiler chickens. We hypothesized that in ova
administration of PAH-A would favorably increase muscle development by means of
hypertrophy. We analyzed mean body mass gain (BMG) and cross-sectional area (CSA)
of broiler pectoralis major samples nine treatments groups on post-hatch days 3 (D3) and
14 (DI4). Our results revealed a positive correlation between the CSA and body mass
(BM) of control birds (R = 0.96) and showed significant differences (p < 0.05) in mean
CSA between D3 and DI4 tissue samples. Our results did not support our hypothesis
because we failed to observe significant differences in BMG or CSA between control and
PAH-A groups. Additional studies are required for accurate evaluation of PAH-A as a
myostatin inhibitor. In addition to improvements in agricultural meat production, future
applications of PAH-A and other myostatin inhibitors could become successful methods
for reversing the effects of muscle degenerative diseases in humans.
Description
vi, 24 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo College
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.