Rapamycin inhibits the growth and muscle-sparing effects of clenbuterol

Clenbuterol and other β2-adrenergic agonists are effective at inducing muscle growth and attenuating muscle atrophy through unknown mechanisms. This study tested the hypothesis that clenbuterol-induced growth and muscle sparing is mediated through the activation of Akt and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathways. Clenbuterol was administered to normal weight-bearing adult rats to examine the growth-inducing effects and to adult rats undergoing muscle atrophy as the result of hindlimb suspension or denervation to examine the muscle-sparing effects. The pharmacological inhibitor rapamycin was administered in combination with clenbuterol in vivo to determine whether activation of mTOR was involved in mediating the effects of clenbuterol. Clenbuterol administration increased the phosphorylation status of PKB/Akt, S6 kinase 1/p70s6k, and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E binding protein 1/PHAS-1. Clenbuterol treatment induced growth by 27–41% in normal rats and attenuated muscle loss during hindl...