Abstract
Many physiological changes occur with aging. These changes often, directly or indirectly, result in a deterioration of the quality of life and even in a shortening of life expectancy. Besides increased levels of reactive oxygen species, DNA damage and cell apoptosis, another important factor affecting the aging process involves a systemic chronic low-grade inflammation. This condition has already been shown to be interrelated with several (sub)clinical conditions, such as insulin resistance, atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. Recent evidence, however, shows that chronic low-grade inflammation also contributes to the loss of muscle mass, strength and functionality, referred to as sarcopenia, as it affects both muscle protein breakdown and synthesis through several signaling pathways. Classic interventions to counteract age-related muscle wasting mainly focus on resistance training and/or protein supplementation to overcome the anabolic inflexibility from which elderly suffer. Although the elderly benefit from these classic interventions, the therapeutic potential of anti-inflammatory strategies is of great interest, as these might add up to/support the anabolic effect of resistance exercise and/or protein supplementation. In this review, the molecular interaction between inflammation, anabolic sensitivity and muscle protein metabolism in sarcopenic elderly will be addressed.
Highlights
Aging is generally associated with numerous changes that may, directly or indirectly, affect health and/or life span
Systemic inflammation was reported as one of the primary mediators of skeletal muscle wasting in diseases such AIDS, COPD, chronic heart failure and cancer (Sakuma et al, 2015) and it was shown to accelerate aging in general (Jurk et al, 2014). These findings suggest that there is a link between inflammatory mediators and muscle mass and function
In human studies, some authors reported no differences in skeletal muscle protease activity between different age groups (Bossola et al, 2008), while others noticed higher mRNA levels of proteins encoding protease components, ubiquitin-like proteins and proteins related to ubiquitin function in elderly compared to younger adults (Welle et al, 2003)
Summary
Aging is generally associated with numerous changes that may, directly or indirectly, affect health and/or life span. In human studies, some authors reported no differences in skeletal muscle protease activity between different age groups (Bossola et al, 2008), while others noticed higher mRNA levels of proteins encoding protease components, ubiquitin-like proteins and proteins related to ubiquitin function in elderly compared to younger adults (Welle et al, 2003). A recent review suggested that elevated levels of pro-inflammatory mediators (due to LGI), such as TNFα and IL-6, might upregulate this proteolytic pathway through activation of FOXO3a, which regulates the ubiquitin-proteasome system (Xia et al, 2017).
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