Perinatal skeletal muscle growth rates are a function of protein and myonuclear accretion. Precocious exposure of the fetus to glucocorticoids (GLC) in utero impairs muscle growth. Reduced muscle protein synthesis rates contribute to this response, but the consequences for myonuclear hyperplasia are unknown. To test the hypothesis that blunting of Pax7+ muscle progenitor cell proliferative activity by GLC in vivo also contributes to reduced fetal muscle growth, pregnant rats were administered dexamethasone (DEX: 1 mg/L drinking water) from embryonic day (ED) 13 to ED21. Their responses were compared to pair-fed (PF) and ad libitum-fed controls (CON). Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was administered before delivery to measure myonuclear accretion. Fetal hind limb and diaphragm muscles were collected at term and analyzed for myofiber cross-sectional area (CSA), total and BrdU+ myonuclei, Pax7+ nuclei, MyoD and myogenin protein and mRNA abundance and myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoform composition. Mean fiber CSA, myonuclei/myofiber and Pax7+ nuclei/myofiber ratios were reduced in DEX compared to those in CON and PF muscles; CSA/myonucleus, BrdU+/total myonuclei and BrdU+ myonuclei/Pax7+ nuclei were similar among groups. Myogenin abundance was reduced and MyHC-slow was increased in DEX fetuses. The data are consistent with GLC inhibition of muscle progenitor cell proliferation limiting satellite cell and myonuclear accretion. The response of PF-fed compared to CON muscles indicated that decreased food consumption by DEX dams contributed to the smaller myofiber CSA but did not affect Pax7+ nuclear accretion. Thus, the effect on satellite cell reserve and myonuclear number also contributes to the blunting of fetal muscle growth by GLC.

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and myostatin have opposing roles in regulating the growth and size of skeletal muscle, with IGF1 stimulating, and myostatin inhibiting, growth. However, it remains unclear whether these proteins have mutually dependent, or independent, roles. To clarify this issue, we crossed myostatin null (Mstn ^−/−) mice with mice overexpressing Igf1 in skeletal muscle (Igf1 ⁺) to generate six genotypes of male mice; wild type (Mstn ^+/+ ), Mstn ^+/−, Mstn ^−/−, Mstn ^+/+ :Igf1 ⁺, Mstn ^+/− :Igf1 ⁺ and Mstn ^−/− :Igf1 ⁺. Overexpression of Igf1 increased the mass of mixed fibre type muscles (e.g. Quadriceps femoris) by 19% over Mstn ^+/+ , 33% over Mstn ^+/− and 49% over Mstn ^−/− (P < 0.001). By contrast, the mass of the gonadal fat pad was correspondingly reduced with the removal of Mstn and addition of Igf1. Myostatin regulated the number, while IGF1 regulated the size of myofibres, and the deletion of Mstn and Igf1 ⁺ independently increased the proportion of fast type IIB myosin heavy chain isoforms in T. anterior (up to 10% each, P < 0.001). The abundance of AKT and rpS6 was increased in muscles of Mstn ^−/− mice, while phosphorylation of AKT^S473 was increased in Igf1 ⁺ mice (Mstn ^+/+ :Igf1 ⁺, Mstn ^+/− :Igf1 ⁺ and Mstn ^−/− :Igf1 ⁺). Our results demonstrate that a greater than additive effect is observed on the growth of skeletal muscle and in the reduction of body fat when myostatin is absent and IGF1 is in excess. Finally, we show that myostatin and IGF1 regulate skeletal muscle size, myofibre type and gonadal fat through distinct mechanisms that involve increasing the total abundance and phosphorylation status of AKT and rpS6.