title: Increased plasma myostatin in heart failure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Myostatin (Mstn), a member of the transforming growth factors (TGF)-β family that regulate skeletal muscle growth, has been identified as a regulator of cardiomyocyte growth. The aim of our study was to measure Mstn plasma concentrations in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) and to evaluate their relationship with other neurohormones released in CHF.
  
  
  RESULTS
  concentrations of Mstn were measured using a competitive immunoassay, in 76 CHF patients who were receiving optimal treatment and 60 healthy controls. Circulating levels of other neurohormones N-terminal pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (NT-proANP), B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and Big ET-1 were also measured. Plasma Mstn was higher in CHF patients than in controls (63.0 vs. 43.0 ng/mL; P < 0.001). In CHF, Mstn levels correlated positively with NT-proANP (r=0.25; P=0.03), BNP (r=0.33; P<0.01), NT-proBNP (r=0.32; P<0.01), and Big ET-1 (r=0.26; P=0.02). No significant correlations were observed with age and creatinine.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results demonstrate that plasma concentrations of Mstn are significantly increased in CHF patients and that Mstn correlates with biomarkers related to HF severity. Our study confirms the activation of Mstn in patients with heart failure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Cliniques Universitaires St-Luc, Tour Rosalyn Franklin, Avenue E. Mounier, Brussels, Belgium. damien.gruson@uclouvain.be
authors.forename: Damien
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gruson
authors.forename: Sylvie A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Jean-Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ketelslegers
authors.forename: Michel F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Rousseau
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism; D055435:Myostatin / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D055435:Myostatin; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta