Effects of the regulation of follistatin mRNA expression by IGF-1 in duck (Anas platyrhynchos) skeletal muscle.

The IGF-1 and TGF-β pathways have been shown to be involved in regulating muscle development. Many mediators that are associated with the regulation of muscle development have been found to participate in the cross-talk between these two pathways. To research the relationships between IGF-1 and the follistatin-mediated TGF-β pathways in duck skeletal muscle development, a series of studies were conducted. The results showed that follistatin had similar expression patterns to IGF-1 during duck embryonic muscle development. The in ovo feeding of IGF-1 to duck eggs was shown to increase follistatin expression in the duck skeletal muscle. Thus, IGF-1 may induce the mRNA expression of follistatin. These results suggest that follistatin may be a key regulator of multiple signaling cascades responding to the cross-talk between the IGF-1 and TGF-β pathways.