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Early changes of muscle insulin‐like growth factor‐1 and myostatin gene expression in gastric cancer patients
Author(s) -
Bonetto Andrea,
Penna Fabio,
Aversa Zaira,
Mercantini Paolo,
Baccino Francesco M.,
Costelli Paola,
Ziparo Vincenzo,
Lucia Simone,
Fanelli Filippo Rossi,
Muscaritoli Maurizio
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.23798
Subject(s) - myostatin , cancer , cachexia , medicine , endocrinology , insulin like growth factor , biology , growth factor , cancer research , skeletal muscle , receptor
Cachexia increases morbidity and mortality of cancer patients. The progressive loss of muscle mass negatively affects physical function and quality of life. We previously showed reduced muscle insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (IGF‐1) expression and enhanced myostatin signaling in tumor‐bearing animals. This study was aimed at investigating whether similar perturbations occur in gastric cancer patients. Methods Early perturbations of myostatin and IGF‐1 signaling (including the expression of muscle‐specific ubiquitin ligases) were investigated in 16 gastric cancer patients and in 6 controls by analyzing muscle mRNA expression with semiquantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real‐time PCR. Results In gastric cancer patients, muscle mRNA levels for IGF‐1, myostatin, and atrogin‐1 were reduced irrespective of weight loss (≤5% or >5%), whereas MuRF1 expression was unchanged. Conclusions IGF‐1 and myostatin mRNA levels are downregulated in gastric cancer patients who have minimal or no weight loss. These early alterations are particularly relevant in order to devise preventive and therapeutic strategies for cancer cachexia. Muscle Nerve 48 : 387–392, 2013