ArticleMolecular and cellular biology2014
An antibody blocking activin type II receptors induces strong skeletal muscle hypertrophy and protects from atrophy.
Article in Molecular and cellular biology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 156 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
156 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 293 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and Safety of Bimagrumab in Adults With Obesity and Metabolic Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Pooled it
- Explore the optimal exercise intervention subtype for sarcopenia: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis.BMC geriatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of Bimagrumab on body composition: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Cardiac safety of chronic inhibition of the myostatin-activin pathway with bimagrumab in healthy older adults.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Trial
- Bimagrumab plus semaglutide alone or in combination for the treatment of obesity: a randomized phase 2 trial.Nature medicine · 2026Trial
- GDF8 and activin A are the key negative regulators of muscle mass in postmenopausal females: a randomized phase I trial.Nature communications · 2025Trial
- Efficacy and Safety of Bimagrumab in Sporadic Inclusion Body Myositis: Long-term Extension of RESILIENT.Neurology · 2021Trial
- Effect of Bimagrumab vs Placebo on Body Fat Mass Among Adults With Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity: A Phase 2 Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2021Trial
- Safety and pharmacokinetics of bimagrumab in healthy older and obese adults with body composition changes in the older cohort.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2020Trial
- Bimagrumab vs Optimized Standard of Care for Treatment of Sarcopenia in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2020Trial
- Activin Type II Receptor Blockade for Treatment of Muscle Depletion in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. A Randomized Trial.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2019Trial
- Effect of bimagrumab on thigh muscle volume and composition in men with casting-induced atrophy.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2017Trial
- Effects of elastic band resistance training and nutritional supplementation on muscle quality and circulating muscle growth and degradation factors of institutionalized elderly women: the Vienna Active Ageing Study (VAAS).European journal of applied physiology · 2016Trial
- Strengthening muscle for healthy ageing: innovative treatments for sarcopenia.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
- Activin Signaling Inhibitors in Pulmonary Hypertension: A State-of-the-Art Review.Pulmonary circulation · 2026Review
- Exercise-induced myokines in metabolic regulation: mechanisms, mimetics, and translational potential.Archives of pharmacal research · 2026Review
- A skeletal muscle atlas shows neuromuscular junction adaptations to growth and atrophy.Developmental cell · 2026Article
- Muscle movement and metabolism: exercise and skeletal muscle as mediators of health-a report from the 26th Annual Harvard Nutrition Obesity Symposium, 2025.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2026Article
96 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The myostatin/activin type II receptor (ActRII) pathway has been identified to be critical in regulating skeletal muscle size. Several other ligands, including GDF11 and the activins, signal through this pathway, suggesting that the ActRII receptors are major regulatory nodes in the regulation of muscle mass. We have developed a novel, human anti-ActRII antibody (bimagrumab, or BYM338) to prevent binding of ligands to the receptors and thus inhibit downstream signaling. BYM338 enhances differentiation of primary human skeletal myoblasts and counteracts the inhibition of differentiation induced by myostatin or activin A. BYM338 prevents myostatin- or activin A-induced atrophy through inhibition of Smad2/3 phosphorylation, thus sparing the myosin heavy chain from degradation. BYM338 dramatically increases skeletal muscle mass in mice, beyond sole inhibition of myostatin, detected by comparing the antibody with a myostatin inhibitor. A mouse version of the antibody induces enhanced muscle hypertrophy in myostatin mutant mice, further confirming a beneficial effect on muscle growth beyond myostatin inhibition alone through blockade of ActRII ligands. BYM338 protects muscles from glucocorticoid-induced atrophy and weakness via prevention of muscle and tetanic force losses. These data highlight the compelling therapeutic potential of BYM338 for the treatment of skeletal muscle atrophy and weakness in multiple settings.
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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 OpenQuestion graph.