Myostatin/Smad2/Smad3 pathway define a differential clinical phenotype in COPD-associated sarcopenia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Sarcopenia, defined as the loss of muscle mass and function, represents one of the most relevant comorbidities in patients with COPD even at early stages. We hypothesised that sarcopenia defines a specific clinical phenotype in COPD irrespective of respiratory disease severity. Markers of myostatin/Smad2/Smad3 and IGF-1/PI3K/Akt may be differentially expressed in the vastus lateralis (VL) of patients with COPD-associated sarcopenia.

Methods

In muscle specimens from VL, markers of the myostatin/Smad2/Smad3, Smad4 and IGF-1/PI3K/Akt pathways were evaluated (real-time PCR and immunoblotting) and correlations between clinical and biological variables of patients with sarcopenia (n=23), without sarcopenia (n=18) and healthy controls (n=13) were examined.

Results

SUBMITTER: Nunez-Robainas A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12012910 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature