Identification of the Minimum Peptide from Mouse Myostatin Prodomain for Human Myostatin Inhibition

Myostatin, an endogenous negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass, is a therapeutic target for muscle atrophic disorders. Here, we identified minimum peptides 2 and 7 to effectively inhibit myostatin activity, which consist of 24 and 23 amino acids, respectively, derived from mouse myostatin prodomain. These peptides, which had the propensity to form α-helix structure, interacted to myostatin with KD values of 30–36 nM. Moreover, peptide 2 significantly increased muscle mass in Duchenne muscular dystrophy model mice.