Oncostatin M signaling drives cancer-associated skeletal muscle wasting

Progressive weakness and muscle loss are associated with multiple chronic conditions, including muscular dystrophy and cancer. Cancer -associated cachexia, characterized by dramatic weight loss and fatigue, leads to reduced quality of life and poor survival. Inflammatory cytokines have been implicated in muscle atrophy; however, available anticytokine therapies failed to prevent muscle wasting in cancer patients. Here, we show that oncostatin M (OSM) is a potent inducer of muscle atrophy. OSM triggers cellular atrophy in primary myotubes using the JAK/STAT3 pathway. Identification of OSM targets by RNA sequencing reveals the induction of various muscle atrophy -related genes, including Atrogin1 . OSM overexpression in mice causes muscle wasting, whereas muscle -specific deletion of the OSM receptor (OSMR) and the neutralization of circulating OSM preserves muscle mass and function in tumor -bearing mice. Our results indicate that activated OSM/OSMR signaling drives muscle atrophy, and the therapeutic targeting of this pathway may be useful in preventing muscle wasting.