Background The myokine myostatin regulates muscle mass and has been linked to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. However, data on its role in humans is still limited. We, therefore, investigated the associations of serum myostatin with muscle mass, physical fitness, and components of the metabolic syndrome in a cohort of premenopausal women. Methods We undertook a cross-sectional analysis of 233 women from the monocenter study PPSDiab, conducted in Munich, Germany. Participants had recently completed a pregnancy with or without gestational diabetes. Our analysis included medical history, anthropometrics, oral glucose tolerance testing, laboratory chemistry, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, and magnetic resonance imaging (n=142) of visceral fat volume, left quadriceps muscle mass, and muscle fat content. Serum myostatin was quantified by a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results We observed positive correlations of serum myostatin with body mass index (ρ=0.235; p=0.0003), body fat percentage (ρ=0.166; p=0.011), waist circumference (ρ=0.206; p=0.002), intraabdominal fat volume (ρ=0.182; p=0.030) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (ρ=0.175; p=0.008). These correlations were reproduced in linear regression analyses with adjustment for age and time after delivery. We saw no correlations with muscle mass, physical fitness, insulin sensitivity, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and blood pressure. Conclusions Our observation of elevated serum myostatin in women with a higher body fat percentage, visceral obesity, and elevated c-reactive protein suggests that this myokine contributes to the altered muscle-adipose tissue crosstalk in metabolic syndrome. Elevated myostatin may advance this pathophysiologic process and could also impair the efficacy of exercise interventions. Further mechanistic studies, therefore, seem warranted.

中文翻译：

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血清肌肉生长抑制素与体重、内脏脂肪量和高敏 C 反应蛋白的关系，但与绝经前妇女的肌肉质量和体能无关

背景 肌动蛋白肌生成抑制素调节肌肉质量，并与胰岛素抵抗和代谢综合征有关。然而，关于其在人类中的作用的数据仍然有限。因此，我们在一组绝经前妇女中调查了血清肌肉生长抑制素与肌肉质量、身体健康和代谢综合征成分的关系。方法 我们对在德国慕尼黑进行的单中心研究 PPSDiab 的 233 名女性进行了横断面分析。参与者最近完成了有或没有妊娠糖尿病的妊娠。我们的分析包括病史、人体测量学、口服葡萄糖耐量测试、实验室化学、心肺运动测试和内脏脂肪体积、左股四头肌肌肉质量和肌肉脂肪含量的磁共振成像 (n=142)。通过竞争性酶联免疫吸附测定法定量血清肌生长抑制素。结果 我们观察到血清肌肉生长抑制素与体重指数（ρ=0.235；p=0.0003）、体脂百分比（ρ=0.166；p=0.011）、腰围（ρ=0.206；p=0.002）、腹内脂肪体积呈正相关(ρ=0.182; p=0.030) 和高敏 C 反应蛋白 (ρ=0.175; p=0.008)。这些相关性在线性回归分析中重现，并调整了分娩后的年龄和时间。我们发现与肌肉质量、身体健康、胰岛素敏感性、甘油三酯、HDL 胆固醇和血压没有相关性。结论 我们观察到体脂百分比较高、内脏肥胖、和升高的 c 反应蛋白表明这种肌因子有助于代谢综合征中肌肉-脂肪组织串扰的改变。升高的肌肉生长抑制素可能会促进这一病理生理过程，也可能会损害运动干预的功效。因此，进一步的机制研究似乎是必要的。