Double Muscling Research Paper

Double muscling is a phenotype that is known to enhance the muscle mass of an individual. The Myostatin (MSTN) gene (Bellinge et al. 2005) causes the double muscling phenotype. When an individual possesses the MSTN gene, they will experience a larger amount of muscle mass (Bellinge et al. 2005), however, an individual must be homozygous for MSTN to show the phenotype (Bellinge et al. 2005). This means that they must possess two MSTN genes in order to be double muscled (Bellinge et al. 2005). Double muscling occurs because muscle fibre composition is no longer controlled (Bellinge et al. 2005). The MSTN gene is triggered by a Frameshift mutation that results in the deletion of some nucleotide bases in the gene (Bellinge et al. 2005). The MSTN gene has been
A new technique has been developed where the MSTN is injected into an injured mouse using a needle (Joulia-Ekaza and Cabello 2007). This technique has only been tested on laboratory mice (Joulia-Ekaza and Cabello 2007). The injured mice were proven to have restored skeletal muscles sooner than their wild-type counterparts who did not receive the MSTN treatment (Joulia-Ekaza and Cabello 2007). When the mice are injected with the MSTN gene, their muscle function tends to increase (Joulia-Ekaza and Cabello 2006). The MSTN treated mice also experienced a large increase in structural cells within a given area of the body (Joulia-Ekaza and Cabello 2007). It is important to recognize that these treated mice do have improved muscle function and they still maintain a normal muscled phenotype (Joulia-Ekaza and Cabello 2006). This is significant because the MSTN treatment does not affect the physical body image of a mouse, which may encourage future human patients to receive treatment with the MSTN gene. This MSTN treatment is underway, but does not yet have an exact role in the field of treatment and physical