MGF
The IGF-1 isoform muscle makes after loading, studied in cells, mice and patients' tissue, and sold online as a synthetic fragment
Mechano growth factor is the name for IGF-1Ec, a form of IGF-1 that muscle produces after stretch or damage. The peptide sold online is a synthetic piece of its E domain. Its human evidence is measurement in tissue; nobody has been given it in a published study.
What is it?
The IGF-1 gene can be spliced several ways. One version, IGF-1Ec, rises in muscle after mechanical loading or injury, which is why it was named mechano growth factor. Its distinctive end piece, the E domain, has been made synthetically as a 24-amino-acid peptide, and that synthetic fragment is what laboratories study and online sellers market.
In cells the fragment does things a bodybuilder would want: applied to human muscle cells grown in the lab, it extended the lifespan of muscle stem cells from young donors and drove muscle fibre growth. In ageing mice, switching on extra MGF in the brain increased new neurons and preserved smell. These are cell and animal results.
The only human data are measurements. In tissue from 16 patients with colorectal cancer and 11 with colonic polyps, IGF-1Ec expression was significantly higher than in normal colon, and highest in polyps with high-grade dysplasia. That makes it a possible marker for tumours, which sits awkwardly beside its marketing as a muscle builder.
No published study has given MGF or its synthetic fragment to a person, and no product is approved anywhere.
At a Glance
Every value in this table is printed from the Grey Peptides dataset, the same record the compound explorer and comparison tool read, so the three can never disagree.
Published Research
These are the studies that describe MGF, read from their PubMed abstracts: a tissue study in patients, a review, and cell and mouse studies.
Higher in colon tumours
In tissue from 16 patients with colorectal cancer and 11 with polyps, IGF-1Ec expression was significantly higher than in normal colon, higher in high-grade than low-grade dysplasia, and higher in cancers without lymph-node spread.
What the E domain does
A review of the IGF-1Ec isoform, which rises after muscle injury, in heart remodelling after infarction and in cancer tissue, and of what the synthetic 24-amino-acid E-domain peptide has shown about its separate activity.
In human muscle cells
Applied to cultured human muscle cells from donors of different ages, the synthetic E peptide extended the proliferative lifespan of satellite cells from young but not old donors and increased fibre growth in all cultures.
In ageing mouse brains
Switching on extra MGF in mouse brains from 1 or 3 months of age increased new neurons in the olfactory bulb at 24 months and preserved the sense of smell; starting at 12 months did not.
Side Effects & Contraindications
Reported Side Effects
No human dosing data exist.
Contraindications & Cautions
No approved product exists.
Legal Status
No MGF product is approved anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
?What is MGF?
Mechano growth factor, IGF-1Ec, a form of IGF-1 that muscle makes after loading or damage. Online products are a synthetic fragment of it.
?Has it been tested in people?
Not as a treatment. The only human data measure it in tissue samples from patients.
?Does it build muscle?
In cultured human muscle cells the fragment drove growth. No study has tested it in a person.
?Is there any safety concern?
IGF-1Ec is overexpressed in colon polyps and cancers, which is unexplained and unstudied as a risk.
References
- [pubmed] Alagaratnam S, et al. "Increased expression of IGF-1Ec with increasing colonic polyp dysplasia and colorectal cancer." J Cancer Res Clin Oncol, 2020;146(11):2861-2870. PMID: 32772171.
- [pubmed] Vassilakos G, et al. "Biological activity of the e domain of the IGF-1Ec as addressed by synthetic peptides." Hormones (Athens), 2014;13(2):182-96. PMID: 24776619.
- [pubmed] Kandalla PK, et al. "Mechano Growth Factor E peptide (MGF-E), derived from an isoform of IGF-1, activates human muscle progenitor cells and induces an increase in their fusion potential at different ages." Mech Ageing Dev, 2011;132(4):154-62. PMID: 21354439.
- [pubmed] Tang JJ, et al. "Mechano growth factor, a splice variant of IGF-1, promotes neurogenesis in the aging mouse brain." Mol Brain, 2017;10(1):23. PMID: 28683812.
- [pubmed] Yang SY, et al. "Different roles of the IGF-I Ec peptide (MGF) and mature IGF-I in myoblast proliferation and differentiation." FEBS Lett, 2002;522(1-3):156-60. PMID: 12095637.
- [pubmed] Hill M, et al. "Expression and splicing of the insulin-like growth factor gene in rodent muscle is associated with muscle satellite (stem) cell activation following local tissue damage." J Physiol, 2003;549(Pt 2):409-18. PMID: 12692175.
- [pubmed] Goldspink G, et al. "Effects of activity on growth factor expression." Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 2001;11 Suppl:S21-7. PMID: 11915923.
Sources & Citations
Every study here was read from its PubMed record.
Medical Disclaimer: This content is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, and nothing here is an instruction to obtain or use any compound. Consult a licensed healthcare provider before making health decisions.