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Review
. 2020 May 20;21(10):3607.
doi: 10.3390/ijms21103607.

Physical Exercise and Myokines: Relationships with Sarcopenia and Cardiovascular Complications

Sandra Maria Barbalho  1   2   3 , Uri Adrian Prync Flato  1   2 , Ricardo José Tofano  1   2 , Ricardo de Alvares Goulart  1 , Elen Landgraf Guiguer  1   2   3 , Cláudia Rucco P Detregiachi  1 , Daniela Vieira Buchaim  1   4 , Adriano Cressoni Araújo  1   2 , Rogério Leone Buchaim  1   5 , Fábio Tadeu Rodrigues Reina  1 , Piero Biteli  1 , Daniela O B Rodrigues Reina  1 , Marcelo Dib Bechara  2
Affiliations
Review

Physical Exercise and Myokines: Relationships with Sarcopenia and Cardiovascular Complications

Sandra Maria Barbalho et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Skeletal muscle is capable of secreting different factors in order to communicate with other tissues. These mediators, the myokines, show potentially far-reaching effects on non-muscle tissues and can provide a molecular interaction between muscle and body physiology. Sarcopenia is a chronic degenerative neuromuscular disease closely related to cardiomyopathy and chronic heart failure, which influences the production and release of myokines. Our objective was to explore the relationship between myokines, sarcopenia, and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The autocrine, paracrine, and endocrine actions of myokines include regulation of energy expenditure, insulin sensitivity, lipolysis, free fatty acid oxidation, adipocyte browning, glycogenolysis, glycogenesis, and general metabolism. A sedentary lifestyle accelerates the aging process and is a risk factor for developing sarcopenia, metabolic syndrome, and CVD. Increased adipose tissue resulting from the decrease in muscle mass in patients with sarcopenia may also be involved in the pathology of CVD. Myokines are protagonists in the complex condition of sarcopenia, which is associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients with CVD. The discovery of new pathways and the link between myokines and CVD remain a cornerstone toward multifaceted interventions and perhaps the minimization of the damage resulting from muscle loss induced by factors such as atherosclerosis.

Keywords: cardiovascular diseases; myokines; sarcopenia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Systemic effects of some myokines. After resistance exercise, specific myokines, such as decorin and IGF-1, are released; after endurance training, other specific myokines, such as myonectin, apelin, musclin, and IL-6, are produced and play different roles in different tissues. IGF-1: insulin-like growth factor-1; IL-6: interleukin-6; IL-15: interleukin-15; UCP: uncoupling protein; WAT: white adipose tissue; GLP-1: glucagon-like peptide-1. Up arrows indicate increase; down arrows indicate reduction.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Aging process: (1) sarcopenia and its consequences and (2) influence of exercise on the release of myokines. BMP-7: bone morphogenetic factor-7; IL-15: interleukin-15; IGF-1: insulin-like growth factor-1; GDF-15: growth/differentiation factor-15 BDNF: brain-derived neurotrophic factor; QoL: quality of life.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The relationship between sarcopenia and cardiovascular diseases. The aging process is related to mitochondrial dysfunction and reduction in protein synthesis and PGC-1α and GDF-15 levels. These factors are linked to atrophy, denervation, frailty, and modifications in lipid and carbohydrates metabolism that are associated with heart problems. PGC-1α: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1 alpha.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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