Relationship between serum myostatin levels and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity in healthy young male adolescents. The Maciste Study

Serum Myostatin (sMSTN) is a proteic compound that regulates skeletal muscle growth, adipogenesis, and production of extracellular matrix. Its relationship with functional and structural properties of the arterial wall is still understudied. We aimed at evaluating the association between sMSTN and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV), a measure of aortic stiffness, in a cohort of healthy male adolescents. Fifteen healthy male adolescents were recruited among participants of the MACISTE study, a cross-sectional survey conducted at the "Renato Donatelli" High School in Terni, Italy. sMSTN was measured through Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). cf-PWV was measured through high-fidelity applanation tonometry. Muscle strength and body composition were measured through handgrip and bioimpedentiometry, respectively. sMSTN levels showed a skewed distribution (median 6.0 ng/mL, interquartile range 2.2 - 69.2 ng/mL). Subjects with sMSTN above median value showed higher values of brachial DBP and increased cf-PWV (6.1±1.1 m/s vs 4.6±0.7 m/s, p<0.01) values, compared to their counterparts. Such difference remained significant after controlling for age, mean BP, heart rate, body mass index z-score, waist-to-height ratio, body mass/lean mass ratio, and amount of physical activity (p=0.02). The association between log-transformed sMSTN and cf-PWV was direct and linear, and independent from the effect of confounders at the multivariate analysis (p=0.02). In this preliminary report, sMSTN was independently associated with cf-PWV, a measure of aortic stiffness, in healthy male adolescents. Our results shed lights on the potential role of myokines in the pathogenesis of systemic hypertension and atherosclerosis.