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majutsu
Well-known member
GH, IGF, Test, slin, T3: Satellite cell assault
I am going to discuss the basics of making muscles bigger. This is a little Christmas tutorial
Muscle cells are fixed in number. Though there is some speculation that muscles may increase in number in adulthood under very unusual conditions, the overall amount of this would be very low. The major way for your muscles to get bigger, therefore, is for the muscle cells to increase in size.
The size of a muscle cell is limited by the number of nuclei available. Think of the nuclei as centers of government. If the muscles try to outgrow the number of available government buildings (nuclei), chaos ensues at the fringes of the empire. The muscle in this chaos cannot even initiate an organized contraction, and the size is short lived and dysfunctional. The size of a muslce is therefore limited by a nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio.
In order for the muscle to grow, therefore, satellite cells (which hover around the muscle for repair purposes) need to fuse to muscle cells, donating their nuclei, or government centers, to the cause of building bigger muscle. Any button we can push to increase the fusion of satellite cells to muscle cells will make us bigger. We shall examine these causes in turn, laying out the full tactical assault on these satellite cells.
First of all, we have steroids, particularly androgen receptor agonists. The model here will be testosterone. Anyone who doesn't know about the androgen receptor and how the different steroid profiles come to be should read my tutorial on steroids from last year this time steroid primer .
Androgens stimulate myogenesis (or the making of muscle mass), but we did not know until recently how this exactly was accomplished. Because testosterone promotes the fusion of satellite cells into muscle, it was hoped that AR would be expressed in satellite cells in the skeletal muscle. In an amazing recent study [J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Oct;89(10):5245-55] AR expression was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining, confocal immunofluorescence, and immunoelectron microscopy in sections of the quadriceps (vastus lateralis) from healthy men before and after treatment with high doses of testosterone enanthate. Satellite cell cultures from human skeletal muscle were also tested for AR expression. In this study, AR protein was expressed predominantly in satellite cells! In fact, many of the nuclei donated by the satellite cells and now incorporated in the muscle also demonstrated AR immunostaining, showing that the AR binding probably guided or was instrumental in the fusion process. To pound the proof in the dirt, AR mRNA and protein expression in satellite cell cultures was confirmed by RT-PCR, reverse transcription and real-time PCR, sequencing of RT-PCR product, and Western blot analysis!
In short, any AR-steroid (test-deca-primo-eq-tren) will activate the AR receptor on satellite cells leading to bigger muscle. Playing with the different anabolics would result in more or less tolerable AAS stacks for certain individuals, depending on their needs. But we can make a long story short by saying that 0.5-2g of testosterone per week would probably maximize the AR receptor mechanism on satellite cells for most beginning to intermediate bodybuilders.
Next, lets look at GH. GH is released from the anterior pituitary. In the liver (with involvement of insulin), GH results in the secretion of IGF-1 into the bloodstream. The IGF may then distribute to the muscle or other tissues. IGF-1 acting on the muscle also encourages the differentiation of satellite cells by the IGF-Receptor. [J Cell Physiol. 2004 Sep;200(3):387-94.] GH also acts directly on the muscle to causes the local release of IGF (not related to secretion from the liver). Therefore GH, both directly and through IGF, acts on satellite cells to make bigger muscle. See the diagram below for all the latest details. [Endocrine Reviews 17(5), 1996, 481)
I am going to discuss the basics of making muscles bigger. This is a little Christmas tutorial
Muscle cells are fixed in number. Though there is some speculation that muscles may increase in number in adulthood under very unusual conditions, the overall amount of this would be very low. The major way for your muscles to get bigger, therefore, is for the muscle cells to increase in size.
The size of a muscle cell is limited by the number of nuclei available. Think of the nuclei as centers of government. If the muscles try to outgrow the number of available government buildings (nuclei), chaos ensues at the fringes of the empire. The muscle in this chaos cannot even initiate an organized contraction, and the size is short lived and dysfunctional. The size of a muslce is therefore limited by a nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio.
In order for the muscle to grow, therefore, satellite cells (which hover around the muscle for repair purposes) need to fuse to muscle cells, donating their nuclei, or government centers, to the cause of building bigger muscle. Any button we can push to increase the fusion of satellite cells to muscle cells will make us bigger. We shall examine these causes in turn, laying out the full tactical assault on these satellite cells.
First of all, we have steroids, particularly androgen receptor agonists. The model here will be testosterone. Anyone who doesn't know about the androgen receptor and how the different steroid profiles come to be should read my tutorial on steroids from last year this time steroid primer .
Androgens stimulate myogenesis (or the making of muscle mass), but we did not know until recently how this exactly was accomplished. Because testosterone promotes the fusion of satellite cells into muscle, it was hoped that AR would be expressed in satellite cells in the skeletal muscle. In an amazing recent study [J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Oct;89(10):5245-55] AR expression was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining, confocal immunofluorescence, and immunoelectron microscopy in sections of the quadriceps (vastus lateralis) from healthy men before and after treatment with high doses of testosterone enanthate. Satellite cell cultures from human skeletal muscle were also tested for AR expression. In this study, AR protein was expressed predominantly in satellite cells! In fact, many of the nuclei donated by the satellite cells and now incorporated in the muscle also demonstrated AR immunostaining, showing that the AR binding probably guided or was instrumental in the fusion process. To pound the proof in the dirt, AR mRNA and protein expression in satellite cell cultures was confirmed by RT-PCR, reverse transcription and real-time PCR, sequencing of RT-PCR product, and Western blot analysis!
In short, any AR-steroid (test-deca-primo-eq-tren) will activate the AR receptor on satellite cells leading to bigger muscle. Playing with the different anabolics would result in more or less tolerable AAS stacks for certain individuals, depending on their needs. But we can make a long story short by saying that 0.5-2g of testosterone per week would probably maximize the AR receptor mechanism on satellite cells for most beginning to intermediate bodybuilders.
Next, lets look at GH. GH is released from the anterior pituitary. In the liver (with involvement of insulin), GH results in the secretion of IGF-1 into the bloodstream. The IGF may then distribute to the muscle or other tissues. IGF-1 acting on the muscle also encourages the differentiation of satellite cells by the IGF-Receptor. [J Cell Physiol. 2004 Sep;200(3):387-94.] GH also acts directly on the muscle to causes the local release of IGF (not related to secretion from the liver). Therefore GH, both directly and through IGF, acts on satellite cells to make bigger muscle. See the diagram below for all the latest details. [Endocrine Reviews 17(5), 1996, 481)
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The jins are great.
