ArticleNature communications2025
GDF8 and activin A blockade protects against GLP-1-induced muscle loss while enhancing fat loss in obese male mice and non-human primates.
Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed.
- Targeting Cancer Cachexia: A Mechanistic Evaluation of Anti-GDF-15 Antibody-Based Combination Therapies.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2026Trial
- GDF8 and activin A are the key negative regulators of muscle mass in postmenopausal females: a randomized phase I trial.Nature communications · 2025Trial
- Exerkines in precision management of metabolic diseases.Chinese medical journal · 2026Review
- Strengthening muscle for healthy ageing: innovative treatments for sarcopenia.Nature reviews. Drug discovery · 2026Review
- Beyond Fat Loss: Addressing the Sarcopenia Challenge of Incretin-Based Therapies.Diabetes & metabolism journal · 2026Review
- Review
- Semaglutide-induced loss of skeletal muscle mass is blunted by co-administration of ketone esters.JCI insight · 2026Article
- The evolving landscape of obesity pharmacotherapy.Nature reviews. Drug discovery · 2026Review
- Targeting the activin/myostatin - actrii pathway to preserve skeletal muscle mass in obesity: mechanistic insights and therapeutic perspectives.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2026Review
- Mechanisms of Impaired Skeletal Muscle Regeneration and Therapeutic Approaches in Aging and Chronic Disease.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- A Lineup for Next Anti-Obesity Medicines: Beyond Incretin-Based Pharmacotherapy.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- DNA-based delivery of incretin receptor agonists using MYO Technology leads to durable weight loss in a diet-induced obesity model.Molecular therapy. Nucleic acids · 2026Article
- 15-PGDH inhibition promotes muscle repair and strength recovery during GLP-1 receptor agonist-induced weight loss.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Obesity pharmacotherapy reimagined: The era of multi-receptor agonists and next-generation metabolic modulators, perspectives and controversies.Metabolism open · 2026Review
- Review
- Exercise pills for cardiometabolic health cannot mimic the exercise milieu.Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM · 2026Review
- Weight loss with GLP-1 medicines does not result in a disproportionate loss of muscle mass or function in obese mice and humans.Cell reports. Medicine · 2026Article
- Humans with function-disrupting variants in the myostatin gene (MSTN) have increased skeletal muscle mass and strength, and less adiposity.Nature communications · 2026Article
- 15-PGDH Inhibition Overcomes Muscle Regenerative Deficit Seen With GLP1-Receptor Agonist-Induced Weight Loss.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Pharmacological intervention: Challenges and promising outcomes for fat loss and preservation of lean body mass in the treatment of overweight and type 2 diabetes.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists act via appetite suppression and caloric restriction. These treatments can result in significant muscle loss, likely due to evolutionary mechanisms protecting against food scarcity as muscle is a major energy utilizer. One mechanism that reduces muscle mass involves activation of type II activin receptors, ActRIIA/B, which yield profound muscle growth in humans when blocked. We previously demonstrated GDF8, also known as myostatin, and activin A are the two major ActRIIA/B ligands mediating muscle minimization. Here, we report that dual blockade can also prevent muscle loss associated with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists - and even increase muscle mass - in both obese mice and non-human primates; moreover, this muscle preservation enhances fat loss and is metabolically beneficial. These data raise the possibility that supplementing glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist treatment with GDF8 and activin A blockade could greatly improve the quality of weight loss during the treatment of obesity in humans.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.