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. 2021 May 18:14:2019-2029.
doi: 10.2147/JIR.S313085. eCollection 2021.

Association Between Interleukin-12 and Sarcopenia

Yuan-Yuei Chen  1   2   3 , Tung-Wei Kao  3 , Yi-Lin Chiu  4 , Tao-Chun Peng  3 , Hui-Fang Yang  3 , Wei-Liang Chen  3   4
Affiliations

Association Between Interleukin-12 and Sarcopenia

Yuan-Yuei Chen et al. J Inflamm Res. .

Abstract

Background: Emerging studies have proposed that cytokines secreted following macrophage polarization may contribute to skeletal muscle aging. The current study primarily aimed to determine whether these cytokines have an impact on the progression of sarcopenia in an elderly population.

Methods: In total, 120 elderly adults aged 65 years and older who underwent health examinations from 2015 to 2019 were included in this retrospective study. Sarcopenia was based on the criteria proposed by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People in 2019. Macrophages and cytokines datasets were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Comprehensive assessments were performed for muscle strength, muscle mass, gait speed, tumor growth factor-β (TGF-β), and interleukin-12 (IL-12). Thereafter, the association between sarcopenia and cytokines was analyzed using regression models.

Results: Low muscle strength and low-speed gait were negatively associated with IL-12 [β: -8.96 (95% CI: -14.12, -3.79) and -7.16 (95% CI: -12.54, -1.78), respectively]. Participants with more sarcopenia components and more severe sarcopenia had lower IL-12 (P for trend < 0.001). Conversely, more amount of sarcopenia components were associated with increased TGF-β (P for trend < 0.05). A definite diagnosis of sarcopenia was associated with decreased IL-12 and increased TGF-β with β of -8.96 (95% CI: -14.12, -3.79) and 147.75 (95% CI: 36.27, 259.23). Furthermore, increased IL-12 levels were significantly associated with reduced occurrence of sarcopenia with and odd ratio (OR) of 0.36 (95% CI: 0.15-0.834).

Conclusion: Our findings on the relationship between cytokines and age-related muscle loss showed that IL-12 may be an early diagnosis indicator for sarcopenia in the elderly population.

Keywords: IL-12; TGF-β; gender; macrophage; sarcopenia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared that they had no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of participants.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Gene set variation analysis scoring of M1 and M2 signatures (**p=0.005/***p<0.001).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Associations among different cytokines expressions, M1, and M2 signatures (**p=0.005/***p<0.001).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for optimal cutoff points of IL-12 (A) and TGF-β (B).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Association between cytokines and the occurrence of sarcopenia.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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