Myostatin as a Biomarker of Muscle Wasting and other Pathologies-State of the Art and Knowledge Gaps

Abstract

Sarcopenia is a geriatric syndrome with a significant impact on older patients’ quality of life, morbidity and mortality. Despite the new available criteria, its early diagnosis remains difficult, highlighting the necessity of looking for a valid muscle wasting biomarker. Myostatin, a muscle mass negative regulator, is one of the potential candidates. The aim of this work is to point out various factors affecting the potential of myostatin as a biomarker of muscle wasting. Based on the literature review, we can say that recent studies produced conflicting results and revealed a number of potential confounding factors influencing their use in sarcopenia diagnosing. These factors include physiological variables (such as age, sex and physical activity) as well as a variety of disorders (including heart failure, metabolic syndrome, kidney failure and inflammatory diseases) and differences in laboratory measurement methodology. Our conclusion is that although myostatin alone might not prove to be a feasible biomarker, it could become an important part of a recently proposed panel of muscle wasting biomarkers. However, a thorough understanding of the interrelationship of these markers, as well as establishing a valid measurement methodology for myostatin and revising current research data in the light of new criteria of sarcopenia, is needed.