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Follistatin

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Endocrine Pathology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

  • 34 Accesses

Synonyms

Activin-binding protein

Definition

FST is a cystein-rich glycosylated polypeptide chain of 31–39 kDa expressed in nearly all tissues of higher animals and in humans encoded by FST gene.

Features

FST is a single-chain glycosylated (N-glycosylation sites on asparagines 124 and 288) protein whose primary function consists in binding and neutralizing some members of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily such as activin and bone morphogenic proteins. FST was originally identified in porcine ovarian follicular fluid and received its name because it suppresses synthesis and secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) from the pituitary gland. FST messenger expression is stimulated by TGF-β and Activin A through Smad protein, by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) through cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and by the transcription factor GLI2 through the hedgehog signaling (Shukovski et al. 1995). FST is expressed in a wide variety of tissues and organs with...

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References and Further Reading

  • Amthor, H., Christ, B., Rashid-Doubell, F., Kemp, C. F., Lang, E., & Patel, K. (2002). Follistatin regulates bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7) activity to stimulate embryonic muscle growth. Developmental Biology, 243(1), 115–127.

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  • Lee, S. J., Lee, Y. S., Zimmers, T. A., Soleimani, A., Matzuk, M. M., Tsuchida, K., Cohn, R. D., & Barton, E. R. (2010). Regulation of muscle mass by follistatin and activins. Molecular Endocrinology, 24(10), 1998–2008.

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  • Matzuk, M. M., Lu, N., Vogel, H., Sellheyer, K., Roop, D. R., & Bradley, A. (1995). Multiple defects and perinatal death in mice deficient in follistatin. Nature, 374, 360–363.

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  • Phillips, D. J., & de Kretser, D. M. (1998). Follistatin: A multifunctional regulatory protein. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 19, 287–322.

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  • Rodino-Klapac, L. R., Haidet, A. M., Janaiah Kota, A. M., Handy, C., Kaspar, B. K., & Mendell, J. R. (2009). Inhibition of Myostatin with emphasis on Follistatin as a therapy for muscle disease. Muscle & Nerve, 39(3), 283–296.

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  • Schneyer, A. L., Hall, H. A., Lambert-Messerlian, G., Wang, Q. F., Sluss, P., & Crowley, W. F., Jr. (1996). Follistatin-activin complexes in human serum and follicular fluid differ immunologically and biochemically. Endocrinology, 137, 240–247.

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  • Schneyer, A., Schoen, A., Quigg, A., & Sidis, Y. (2003). Differential binding and neutralization of activins a and B by follistatin and follistatin like-3 (FSTL-3/FSRP/FLRG). Endocrinology, 144(5), 1671–1674.

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  • Shi, L., Resaul, J., Owen, S., Ye, L., & Jiang, W. J. (2016). Clinical and therapeutic implications of Follistatin in solid Tumours. Cancer Genomics Proteomics, 13(6), 425–435.

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  • Shukovski, L., Keren-Tal, I., Dantes, A., & Amsterdam, A. (1995). Regulation of follistatin messenger ribonucleic acid in steroidogenic rat granulosa cell lines. Endocrinology, 136, 2889–2895.

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  • Sidis, Y., Schneyer, A. L., Sluss, P. M., Johnson, L. N., & Keutmann, H. T. (2001). Follistatin: Essential role for the N-terminal domain in activin binding and neutralization. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 276, 17718–17726.

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  • Sugino, K., Kurosawa, N., Nakamura, T., Takio, K., Shimasaki, S., Ling., N., Titani, K. and Sugino, H. (1993). Molecular heterogeneity of follistatin, an activin-binding protein. The Journal of Biological Chemistry 268:15579–15587.

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  • Ueno, N., Ling, N., Ying, S. Y., Esch, F., Shimasaki, S., & Guillemin, R. (1987). Isolation and partial characterization of follistatin: A single-chain Mr 35,000 monomeric protein that inhibits the release of follicle-stimulating hormone. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 84, 8282–8286.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Chirurgia, University “Federico II” of Naples, Naples, Italy

    Annamaria Colao & Claudia Pivonello

Authors
  1. Annamaria Colao
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  2. Claudia Pivonello
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Annamaria Colao .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Insubria, Varese, Italy

    Stefano La Rosa

  2. Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Pathology, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy

    Silvia Uccella

  3. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University and Service of Pathology, Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy

    Silvia Uccella

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Colao, A., Pivonello, C. (2022). Follistatin. In: La Rosa, S., Uccella, S. (eds) Endocrine Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62345-6_5106

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62345-6_5106

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-62344-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-62345-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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