title: Myostatin Gene Polymorphism in an Elderly Sarcopenic Turkish Population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  One of the genetic contributors to sarcopenia predisposition is Myostatin (MSTN), which in humans encodes myostatin, a 376 amino acid growth factor protein that negatively regulates muscle growth. The aim of this study was to investigate MSTN polymorphisms in an elderly sarcopenic population in Turkey and determine how they relate to sarcopenia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included nursing home residents who were aged ≥65 years. Sarcopenia screening was performed using "The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People" guidelines. Blood sample was taken from each participant and DNA was obtained from the peripheral blood. MSTN polymorphisms were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 152 elderly patients were included in the study. The rate of sarcopenia was determined to be 41.4%. The DNA nucleotide sequence of all three MSTN exons was determined for each study participant. Among the 152 patients, only 6 (3.9%) showed an MSTN K153R heterozygous mutation. Among these, three participants were sarcopenic and three were nonsarcopenic. No statistically significant difference in the polymorphism frequency between the sarcopenic and control groups was observed (p=0.664).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MSTN genotyping revealed that only 3.9% (6/152) of participants had the MSTN K153R heterozygous mutation. Despite the detection of this mutation in the study group, no relationship was found between this mutation and sarcopenia.
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University , Izmir, Turkey .
authors.forename: Pinar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tosun Tasar
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University , Izmir, Turkey .
authors.forename: Sevnaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sahin
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Nursing, Ege University , Izmir, Turkey .
authors.forename: Emine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Karaman
authors.affiliation: 3 Division of Molecular Medicine Laboratory, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University , Izmir, Turkey .
authors.forename: Atilla
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oz
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University , Izmir, Turkey .
authors.forename: Merve Gulsah
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Ulusoy
authors.affiliation: 5 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University , Izmir, Turkey .
authors.forename: Soner
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duman
authors.affiliation: 3 Division of Molecular Medicine Laboratory, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University , Izmir, Turkey .
authors.forename: Afig
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berdeli
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University , Izmir, Turkey .
authors.forename: Fehmi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Akcicek
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005091:Exons; D005260:Female; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055435:Myostatin / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D055948:Sarcopenia / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014421:Turkey; D044465:White People
chemical_list: C525911:MSTN protein, human; D055435:Myostatin