Myostatin Levels and the Risk of Myopenia and Rheumatoid Cachexia in Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis
Fabiola González-Ponce, Jorge Iván Gámez-Nava, Eli Efraín Gómez-Ramírez, Melissa Ramírez-Villafaña, Heriberto Jacobo-Cuevas, Norma Alejandra Rodriguez-Jimenez, Eva Maria Olivas-Flores, Yussef Esparza-Guerrero, Alejandro Martelli-García, Aline Priscilla Santiago-Garcia, César Arturo Nava-Valdivia, A Martínez-Hernández, Sergio Antonio González-Vázquez, Alfredo Celis, Carlos E. Cabrera Pivaral, Sylvia Elena Totsuka-Sutto, Ernesto Germán Cardona-Muñóz, Laura González-López
Abstract
Background. Myostatin is a regulator of muscle size. To date, there have been no published studies focusing on the relation between myostin levels and myopenia in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Objective. Evaluate the value of serum myostatin as a biomarker of cachexia and low skeletal muscle mass (LSMM) in RA patients, along with whether high serum myostatin is associated to these conditions after adjusting for potential confounders. Methods. This cross-sectional study included 161 female RA patients and 72 female controls. In the RA group, we assessed several potential risk factors for LSMM and rheumatoid cachexia. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to quantify the skeletal muscle mass index (SMMI) (considering <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"> <a:mtext>LSMM</a:mtext> <a:mo>≤</a:mo> <a:mn>5.5</a:mn> </a:math> kg/m2) and the presence of rheumatoid cachexia (a fat-free mass <c:math xmlns:c="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"> <c:mtext>index</c:mtext> <c:mo>≤</c:mo> <c:mn>10</c:mn> </c:math> percentile and fat mass <e:math xmlns:e="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M3"> <e:mtext>index</e:mtext> <e:mo>≥</e:mo> <e:mn>25</e:mn> </e:math> percentile of the reference population). Serum myostatin concentrations were determined by ELISA. To identify a cut-off for high serum myostatin levels, we performed ROC curve analysis. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors for LSMM and rheumatoid cachexia. The risk was expressed as odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results. Compared to the controls, the RA group had a higher proportion of LSMM and exhibited high serum myostatin levels ( <g:math xmlns:g="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M4"> <g:mi>p</g:mi> <g:mo><</g:mo> <g:mn>0.001</g:mn> </g:math> ). ROC curve analysis showed that a myostatin <i:math xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M5"> <i:mtext>level</i:mtext> <i:mo>≥</i:mo> <i:mn>17</i:mn> </i:math> ng/mL was the most efficient cut-off for identifying rheumatoid cachexia (sensitivity: 53%, specificity: 71%) and LSMM (sensitivity: 43%, specificity: 77%). In the multivariable logistic regression, RA with high myostatin levels (≥17 ng/mL) was found to increase the risk of cachexia ( <k:math xmlns:k="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M6"> <k:mtext>OR</k:mtext> <k:mo>=</k:mo> <k:mn>2.79</k:mn> </k:math> , 95% CI: 1.24-6.29; <m:math xmlns:m="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M7"> <m:mi>p</m:mi> <m:mo>=</m:mo> <m:mn>0.01</m:mn> </m:math> ) and LSMM ( <o:math xmlns:o="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M8"> <o:mtext>OR</o:mtext> <o:mo>=</o:mo> <o:mn>3.04</o:mn> </o:math> , 95% CI: 1.17-7.89; <q:math xmlns:q="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M9"> <q:mi>p</q:mi> <q:mo>=</q:mo> <q:mn>0.02</q:mn> </q:math> ). Conclusions. High serum myostatin levels increase the risk of LSMM and rheumatoid cachexia. We propose that high myostatin levels are useful biomarkers for the identification of patients in risk of rheumatoid cachexia and myopenia.