Drugs for the Treatment of Muscle Atrophy

Abstract

Muscle mass is maintained through an interplay between anabolic and catabolic pathways. The ubiquitin-proteasome system plays an important role in the proteoly- sis progress during skeletal muscle atrophy which can be blocked by some protea- some inhibitors. But few studies have demonstrated the ability of these inhibitors to preserve muscle mass and architecture under catabolic condition in vivo. The insulin-like growth factor-1/phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases/protein kinase B/ mammalian target of rapamycin (IGF-1/PI3K/Akt/mTOR) pathway was associ- ated with anabolic pathways. The activation of IGF-1 causes muscle hypertrophy; however, it cannot be used as a drug target. Myostatin pathway maintains activation that can induce skeletal muscle atrophy involved with various transcriptional and genetic factors. Skeletal muscle atrophy is a debilitating consequence of multiple chronic diseases and conditions that involve starvation. It reduces treatment options and positive clinical outcomes as well as compromising quality of life and increasing morbidity and mortality. Though considerable research has been undertaken to find the drug target and the molecular mechanisms that improve skeletal muscle atro- phy, no drug was approved to treat skeletal muscle atrophy. However, these years, the signaling pathways involved in muscle atrophy were clarified and some effective treatments were currently available to prevent, attenuate, or reverse muscle atrophy for experiment research.