Reciprocal Expression of Myostatin and Vitamin D Receptors in Sarcopenia

Abstract

Background: Sarcopenia is the loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength or/and performance that occurs in concert with biological aging. Objectives: To evaluate both myostatin (MST) and vitamin D3 receptor (VDR) genes expression in Egyptian adults with their relation to each other and muscle state. Methods: Two groups were involved; group A of sarcopenic patients and group B of non-sarcopenic subjects. Multiplex quantitative RT-PCR for MST and VDR mRNA in the peripheral lymphocytes of sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic (control) groups subjects was done. Results: There was an inverse relationship between expression of myostatin and vitamin D3 receptor genes (r = -0.345, P = 0.014). Both MSTN and VDR showed a significant positive and negative association with muscle state respectively (p<0.001). Conclusion: The reciprocal MSTN and VDR expression reflect their role in the regulation of muscle state, which opens a new challenge for them as preventive and therapeutic targets for sarcopenia.

Keywords

• mst
• myostatin
• rt pcr
• multiplex pcr
• sarcopenia
• vdr