Higher Plasma Myostatin Levels in Cor Pulmonale Secondary to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 11; no. 3; p. e0150838
• Main Authors: Ju, Chun-Rong, Chen, Miao, Zhang, Jian-Heng, Lin, Zhi-Ya, Chen, Rong-Chang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 21.03.2016; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Aged; Analysis; Biology and Life Sciences; Blood pressure; Brain natriuretic peptide; Cardiomyocytes; Cardiovascular disease; Case-Control Studies; Chronic obstructive lung disease; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Complications and side effects; Cor pulmonale; Echocardiography; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Family medical history; Female; Fitness training programs; Heart; Heart failure; Hospitals; Humans; Hypertension; Lung diseases; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Middle Aged; Musculoskeletal system; Myocardium; Myostatin; Myostatin - blood; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain - blood; Obstructive lung disease; Patients; Peptides; Performance indices; Plasma; Pulmonary arteries; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - blood; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - complications; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - diagnostic imaging; Pulmonary Heart Disease - blood; Pulmonary Heart Disease - diagnostic imaging; Pulmonary Heart Disease - etiology; Regression analysis; Research and Analysis Methods; Respiratory diseases; Risk factors; Rodents; Ultrasonography; Ventricle; China
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150838

To analyze plasma myostatin levels and investigate their relationship with right ventricular (RV) function in patients with cor pulmonale secondary to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The study recruited 81 patients with advanced COPD and 40 age-matched controls. The patients were divided into two groups: those with cor pulmonale and those without. Echocardiography was used to evaluate RV function and morphology, and the value of tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) less than 16 mm was considered RV dysfunction. Plasma myostatin levels were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels were analyzed as a comparison of myostatin. The data detected cor pulmonale in 39/81 patients, with the mean value of TAPSE of 14.3 mm. Plasma myostatin levels (ng/mL) were significantly higher in patients with cor pulmonale (16.68 ± 2.95) than in those without (13.56 ± 3.09), and much higher than in controls (8.79±2.79), with each p<0.01. Significant differences were also found in plasma BNP levels among the three groups (p<0.05). Multivariate regression analysis suggested that myostatin levels were significantly correlated with the values of TAPSE and RV myocardium performance index among the COPD patients, and that BNP levels were significantly correlated only with systolic pulmonary arterial pressure, with each p<0.05. Plasma myostatin levels are increased in COPD patients who have cor pulmonale. Stronger correlations of plasma myostatin levels with echocardiographic indexes of the right heart suggest that myostatin might be superior to BNP in the early diagnosis of cor pulmonale in COPD.