Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. In people who use incretin mimetics to treat obesity, the desired adipose tissue loss can be accompanied by a considerable loss of lean mass. How to reduce this effect in people taking anti-obesity therapeutics is a key research question in this field. “There is concern that the loss of lean body mass (especially muscle mass) with drugs like GLP1 receptor agonists might impair function,” says Richard Pratley, lead author of a study recently published in Nature Medicine that tested a strategy for addressing this loss. The results show that a human monoclonal antibody against myostatin considerably decreased reductions in lean mass in people taking tirzepatide. In this double-blind clinical trial, 102 participants were randomized into two groups and then treated with either tirzepatide plus intravenous doses of the myostatin inhibitor apitegromab, or with tirzepatide plus placebo. The researchers weighed participants before and after 24 weeks of treatment and assessed their body composition using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at both time points. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription 27,99 € / 30 days cancel any time Subscribe to this journal Receive 12 print issues and online access 176,64 € per year only 14,72 € per issue Buy this article Purchase on SpringerLink Instant access to the full article PDF. Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Original article Pratley, R. E. et al. Apitegromab for lean mass preservation during tirzepatide-induced weight loss: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial. Nat. Med. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04440-4 (2026) Article PubMed Google Scholar Pratley, R. E. et al. Apitegromab for lean mass preservation during tirzepatide-induced weight loss: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial. Nat. Med. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04440-4 (2026) Article PubMed Google Scholar Download references Author information Authors and Affiliations Nature Reviews Endocrinology http://www.nature.com/nrendo/ Senegal Carty Nature Reviews Endocrinology http://www.nature.com/nrendo/ Senegal Carty View author publications Search author on: PubMed Google Scholar

Search author on: PubMed Google Scholar Corresponding author Correspondence to Senegal Carty . Rights and permissions Reprints and permissions About this article Cite this article Carty, S. Myostatin-targeting antibody protects lean mass during incretin-induced weight loss. Nat Rev Endocrinol 22 , 450 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-026-01275-4 Download citation Published : 22 June 2026 Published : 22 June 2026 Version of record : 22 June 2026 Version of record : 22 June 2026 Issue date : August 2026 Issue date : August 2026 DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-026-01275-4 DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-026-01275-4 Share this article Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Explore articles by subject Guide to authors Editorial policies Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.