Choi SJ, Yablonka-Reuveni Z, Kaiyala KJ, Ogimoto K, Schwartz MW, Wisse BE. Increased energy expenditure and leptin sensitivity account for low fat mass in myostatin-deficient mice. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 300: E1031-E1037, 2011. First published March 22, 2011; doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00656.2010.-Myostatin deficiency causes dramatically increased skeletal muscle mass and reduced fat mass. Previously, myostatin-deficient mice were reported to have unexpectedly low total energy expenditure (EE) after normalizing to body mass, and thus, a metabolic cause for low fat mass was discounted. To clarify how myostatin deficiency affects the control of body fat mass and energy balance, we compared rates of oxygen consumption, body composition, and food intake in young myostatindeficient mice relative to wild-type (WT) and heterozygous (HET) controls. We report that after adjusting for total body mass using regression analysis, young myostatin-deficient mice display significantly increased EE relative to both WT (ϩ0.81 Ϯ 0.28 kcal/day, P ϭ 0.004) and HET controls (ϩ0.92 Ϯ 0.31 kcal/day, P ϭ 0.005). Since food intake was not different between groups, increased EE likely accounts for the reduced body fat mass (KO: 8.8 Ϯ 1.1% vs. WT: 14.5 Ϯ 1.3%, P ϭ 0.003) and circulating leptin levels (KO: 0.7 Ϯ 0.2 ng/ml vs. WT: 1.9 Ϯ 0.3 ng/ml, P ϭ 0.008). Interestingly, the observed increase in adjusted EE in myostatin-deficient mice occurred despite dramatically reduced ambulatory activity levels (Ϫ50% vs. WT, P Ͻ 0.05). The absence of hyperphagia together with increased EE in myostatin-deficient mice suggests that increased leptin sensitivity may contribute to their lean phenotype. Indeed, leptin-induced anorexia (KO: Ϫ17 Ϯ 1.2% vs. WT: Ϫ5 Ϯ 0.3%) and weight loss (KO: Ϫ2.2 Ϯ 0.2 g vs. WT: Ϫ1.6 Ϯ 0.1, P Ͻ 0.05) were increased in myostatin-deficient mice compared with WT controls. We conclude that increased EE, together with increased leptin sensitivity, contributes to low fat mass in mice lacking myostatin. energy balance; locomotor activity; body fat; insulin sensitivity MYOSTATIN, a member of the transforming growth factor- family, is a paracrine factor that regulates skeletal muscle size and growth by favoring muscle atrophy and inhibiting anabolic signaling (12, 15). In mice (22) and humans (30), homozygous loss-of-function mutation of the myostatin gene causes a phenotype characterized by dramatic, whole body skeletal muscle hypertrophy and hyperplasia. Initial characterization of the energy homeostasis phenotype of myostatin-null mice revealed unexpected findings, suggesting a role for myostatin in the control of energy balance beyond its effect on skeletal muscle. Mature myostatin-null mice were found to have reduced body fat accumulation with age (23). Because energy expenditure (EE; normalized to body weight or lean body mass) in these animals was decreased relative to wild-type (WT) controls, suggestive of increased metabolic efficiency, the low-body fat phenotype remained unexplained (11, 23). A subsequent, extensive analysi...