FST Gene

Name	follistatin
Description	Follistatin is a single-chain gonadal protein that specifically inhibits follicle-stimulating hormone release. The single FST gene encodes two isoforms, FST317 and FST344 containing 317 and 344 amino acids respectively, resulting from alternative splicing of the precursor mRNA. In a study in which 37 candidate genes were tested for linkage and association with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or hyperandrogenemia in 150 families, evidence was found for linkage between PCOS and follistatin. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Follistatin (FST) is a multifunctional secreted glycoprotein that modulates the activity of several transforming growth factor–β (TGF‑β) superfamily members. In early human embryogenesis, FST antagonizes Activin/Nodal signaling and thereby helps to regulate pluripotency and the onset of differentiation in embryonic stem cells."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In the context of gonadal development, FST expression is linked to sex‐determining pathways; its upregulation is observed when male‐determining factors such as Sox9 are lost, and in the ovary, FST functions downstream of WNT4 to prevent the formation of male vascular structures and to maintain germ cell survival."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In skeletal muscle, FST plays a pivotal role as an endogenous inhibitor of negative muscle growth regulators like myostatin and activin. During myogenesis, FST directly binds myostatin to block its inhibitory signaling, thereby promoting myoblast differentiation and muscle fiber formation as demonstrated in chick development."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In mice, haploinsufficiency of FST is associated with reduced muscle size, shifts in fiber type composition, impaired muscle remodeling, and diminished force production."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Furthermore, studies in both wild‐type and myostatin–null mice indicate that FST not only counters myostatin but also limits other TGF‑β ligands, such as activin A, to regulate overall muscle mass."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Detailed analyses of FST isoforms reveal that, despite comparable affinities for activin, their differential cell-surface binding properties are likely responsible for distinct biological outcomes."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "7"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Moreover, FST has been identified as a key effector in the mTOR–miR-1–HDAC4 signaling cascade, acting as a fusion factor during myocyte fusion and muscle regeneration."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "8"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Circulating levels of FST increase in response to exercise, with evidence pointing to hepatic secretion and suggesting a role in muscle–liver cross talk."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "9"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In models of muscle hypertrophy—including gene transfer studies in muscular dystrophy contexts—FST overexpression enhances muscle mass and strength, underpinning its therapeutic potential even though improvements in overall survival remain uncertain."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "10"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Outside of muscle and gonadal tissues, FST also functions in neural development: by antagonizing growth and differentiation factor 11 (GDF11), FST plays a critical role in olfactory epithelium neurogenesis, where its absence leads to reduced production of new neurons."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "12"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Thus, FST is a pivotal modulator of TGF‑β family signaling that influences cell proliferation, differentiation, and tissue homeostasis in a context-dependent manner across diverse biological systems.\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ludovic Vallier, Morgan Alexander, Roger A Pedersen "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Activin/Nodal and FGF pathways cooperate to maintain pluripotency of human embryonic stem cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Cell Sci (2005)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1242/jcs.02553"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.02553"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16179608"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16179608"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Marie-Christine Chaboissier, Akio Kobayashi, Valerie I P Vidal, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Functional analysis of Sox8 and Sox9 during sex determination in the mouse."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Development (2004)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1242/dev.01087"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.01087"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15056615"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15056615"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Humphrey H C Yao, Martin M Matzuk, Carolina J Jorgez, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Follistatin operates downstream of Wnt4 in mammalian ovary organogenesis."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Dev Dyn (2004)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1002/dvdy.20042"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/dvdy.20042"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15162500"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15162500"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Helge Amthor, Gina Nicholas, Iain McKinnell, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Follistatin complexes Myostatin and antagonises Myostatin-mediated inhibition of myogenesis."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Dev Biol (2004)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.ydbio.2004.01.046"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ydbio.2004.01.046"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15136138"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15136138"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Alexandra C McPherron, Thanh V Huynh, Se-Jin Lee "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Redundancy of myostatin and growth/differentiation factor 11 function."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "BMC Dev Biol (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1186/1471-213X-9-24"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-213X-9-24"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19298661"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19298661"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Se-Jin Lee, Yun-Sil Lee, Teresa A Zimmers, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Regulation of muscle mass by follistatin and activins."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Endocrinol (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1210/me.2010-0127"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1210/me.2010-0127"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20810712"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20810712"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yisrael Sidis, Abir Mukherjee, Henry Keutmann, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Biological activity of follistatin isoforms and follistatin-like-3 is dependent on differential cell surface binding and specificity for activin, myostatin, and bone morphogenetic proteins."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Endocrinology (2006)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1210/en.2006-0089"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1210/en.2006-0089"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16627583"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16627583"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 8, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yuting Sun, Yejing Ge, Jenny Drnevich, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mammalian target of rapamycin regulates miRNA-1 and follistatin in skeletal myogenesis."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Cell Biol (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1083/jcb.200912093"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.200912093"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20566686"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20566686"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 9, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jakob Hansen, Claus Brandt, Anders R Nielsen, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Exercise induces a marked increase in plasma follistatin: evidence that follistatin is a contraction-induced hepatokine."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Endocrinology (2011)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1210/en.2010-0868"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1210/en.2010-0868"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "21068158"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21068158"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 10, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hélène Gilson, Olivier Schakman, Stéphanie Kalista, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Follistatin induces muscle hypertrophy through satellite cell proliferation and inhibition of both myostatin and activin."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1152/ajpendo.00193.2009"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpendo.00193.2009"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19435857"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19435857"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 11, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Rebecca A Dragovic, Lesley J Ritter, Samantha J Schulz, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Oocyte-secreted factor activation of SMAD 2/3 signaling enables initiation of mouse cumulus cell expansion."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Biol Reprod (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1095/biolreprod.106.057471"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1095/biolreprod.106.057471"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17192514"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17192514"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 12, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hsiao-Huei Wu, Sanja Ivkovic, Richard C Murray, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Autoregulation of neurogenesis by GDF11."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Neuron (2003)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/s0896-6273(02)01172-8"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/s0896-6273(02"}, {"type": "t", "text": "01172-8) PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12546816"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12546816"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	FS
Proteins	FST_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	10468
API
Download Associations
Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

FST has 12,054 functional associations with biological entities spanning 9 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA, sequence feature) extracted from 112 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for FST from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

FST Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of FST gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of FST gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of FST gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq	tissue samples with high or low expression of FST gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of FST gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of FST gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of FST gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of FST gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of FST gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with FST protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with FST gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of FST gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of FST gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of FST gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of FST gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing FST protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing FST protein in low- or high-throughput protein localization assays from the COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with FST protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with FST protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of FST gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with FST gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with FST gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with FST gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by FST gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with FST gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with FST gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with FST gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with FST gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with FST gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	DrugBank Drug Targets	interacting drugs for FST protein from the curated DrugBank Drug Targets dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at FST gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of FST gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of FST gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing FST from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GAD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with FST gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with FST gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of FST gene relative to other cell lines from the GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations	biological terms co-occuring with FST gene in literature-supported statements describing functions of genes from the GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations dataset.
	GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing FST from the GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures dataset.
	GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Diseases	disease perturbations changing expression of FST gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Diseases dataset.