Musculoskeletal Biology: Impact of Ageing and Disease

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Physiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 6496

Special Issue Editors

MRC-Versus Arthritis Centre for Integrated Research into Musculoskeletal Ageing (CIMA), Department of Musculoskeletal Ageing, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L7 8TX, UK
Interests: musculoskeletal system; joint; chronic disease; frailty; ageing
MRC-Versus Arthritis Centre for Integrated Research into Musculoskeletal Ageing (CIMA), Department of Musculoskeletal Ageing, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L7 8TX, UK
Interests: skeletal muscle ageing; musculoskeletal system; nutrition and frailty; cell models; human interventions

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

The prevalence of disorders associated with the musculoskeletal system continues to increase with the ageing population, resulting in escalating societal and economic burdens placed on healthcare systems.

There is, therefore, a critical need to strengthen our understanding of the biological changes that take place in the musculoskeletal system during the process of normal ageing and at the onset and progression of diseases that affect skeletal muscle, bone, cartilage, joints, tendons and ligaments.

This research topic aims to address unsolved problems in the field of musculoskeletal and ageing science at the molecular, cellular, tissue, organ and systems levels, and will seek to advance new ways of understanding, diagnosing, treating and preventing ageing and chronic diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

This Special Issue welcomes original research articles, reviews, methods, and other article types focused on (but not limited to) the following areas:

  • Mechanisms and models of ageing and musculoskeletal disease;
  • Biology of musculoskeletal tissues (including skeletal muscle, bone, cartilage, joints, tendons and ligaments);
  • Biomechanics;
  • Nutrition and frailty;
  • Pain.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Rachel A. Oldershaw
Prof. Dr. Anne McArdle
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • musculoskeletal system
  • joint
  • chronic disease
  • frailty
  • ageing

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3425 KiB  
Article
The Functional and Anatomical Impacts of Healthy Muscle Ageing
by James P. Charles and Karl T. Bates
Biology 2023, 12(10), 1357; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12101357 - 23 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1170
Abstract
Even “healthy” muscle ageing is often associated with substantial changes in muscle form and function and can lead to increased injury risks and significant negative impacts on quality of life. However, the impacts of healthy muscle ageing on the fibre architecture and microstructure [...] Read more.
Even “healthy” muscle ageing is often associated with substantial changes in muscle form and function and can lead to increased injury risks and significant negative impacts on quality of life. However, the impacts of healthy muscle ageing on the fibre architecture and microstructure of different muscles and muscle groups throughout the lower limb, and how these are related to their functional capabilities, are not fully understood. Here, a previously established framework of magnetic resonance and diffusion tensor imaging was used to measure the muscle volumes, intramuscular fat, fibre lengths and physiological cross-sectional areas of 12 lower limb muscles in a cohort of healthily aged individuals, which were compared to the same data from a young population. Maximum muscle forces were also measured from an isokinetic dynamometer. The more substantial interpopulation differences in architecture and functional performance were located within the knee extensor muscles, while the aged muscles were also more heterogeneous in muscle fibre type and atrophy. The relationships between architecture and muscle strength were also more significant in the knee extensors compared to other functional groups. These data highlight the importance of the knee extensors as a potential focus for interventions to negate the impacts of muscle ageing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Musculoskeletal Biology: Impact of Ageing and Disease)
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14 pages, 3744 KiB  
Article
ProBDNF Upregulation in Murine Hind Limb Ischemia Reperfusion Injury: A Driver of Inflammation
by Katherine Aby, Ryan Antony and Yifan Li
Biology 2023, 12(7), 903; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12070903 - 24 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 943
Abstract
Brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) has been shown to be expressed in many nonneuronal tissues including skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle BDNF has been studied regarding its function in metabolism and exercise; however, less is known about its role in skeletal muscle injury. The precursor [...] Read more.
Brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) has been shown to be expressed in many nonneuronal tissues including skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle BDNF has been studied regarding its function in metabolism and exercise; however, less is known about its role in skeletal muscle injury. The precursor to BDNF, proBDNF, has an unknown role in skeletal muscle. The levels of proBDNF, mature BDNF, and their receptors were compared in the skeletal muscle and brain tissues of C57BL/6J mice. Tourniquet-induced hind limb ischemia-reperfusion injury was used to assess the function of skeletal muscle-derived proBDNF in skeletal muscle injury. Skeletal muscle-specific knockout of BDNF and pharmacological inhibition of p75NTR, the proBDNF receptor, were used to determine the role of proBDNF–p75NTR signaling. We show for the first time that proBDNF is the predominantly expressed form of BDNF in skeletal muscle and that proBDNF is significantly upregulated in skeletal muscle following hind limb ischemia-reperfusion injury. Skeletal muscle-specific knockout of BDNF blunted the inflammatory response in the injured tissue and appears to be mediated by the proBDNF–p75NTR pathway, as shown by the pharmacological inhibition of p75NTR. These findings suggest that skeletal muscle proBDNF plays a critical role in driving the inflammatory response following skeletal muscle injury. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Musculoskeletal Biology: Impact of Ageing and Disease)
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12 pages, 2393 KiB  
Article
Role of Muscle Ultrasound for the Study of Frailty in Elderly Patients with Diabetes: A Pilot Study
by Andreu Simó-Servat, Ernesto Guevara, Verónica Perea, Núria Alonso, Carmen Quirós, Carlos Puig-Jové and María-José Barahona
Biology 2023, 12(6), 884; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12060884 - 19 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1361
Abstract
Background: Sarcopenia and diabetes contribute to the development of frailty. Therefore, accessible methods, such as muscle ultrasounds (MUSs), to screen for sarcopenia should be implemented in clinical practice. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional pilot study including 47 patients with diabetes (mean age: 77.72 [...] Read more.
Background: Sarcopenia and diabetes contribute to the development of frailty. Therefore, accessible methods, such as muscle ultrasounds (MUSs), to screen for sarcopenia should be implemented in clinical practice. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional pilot study including 47 patients with diabetes (mean age: 77.72 ± 5.08 years, mean weight: 75.8 kg ± 15.89 kg, and body mass index: 31.19 ± 6.65 kg/m2) categorized as frail by the FRAIL Scale or Clinical Frailty Scale and confirmed by Fried’s Frailty Phenotype or Rockwood’s 36-item Frailty Index. We used the SARC-F questionnaire to identify sarcopenia. The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and the Timed Up and Go (TUG) tests were used to assess physical performance and the risk of falls, respectively. In addition, other variables were measured: fat-free mass (FFM) and Sarcopenia Risk Index (SRI) with the bioimpedance analysis (BIA); thigh muscle thickness (TMT) of the quadriceps with MUS; and hand-grip strength with dynamometry. Results: We observed correlations between the SARC-F and FFM (R = −0.4; p < 0.002) and hand-grip strength (R = −0.5; p < 0.0002), as well as between the TMT and FFM of the right leg (R = 0.4; p < 0.02) and the SRI (R = 0.6; p < 0.0001). We could predict sarcopenia using a logistic regression model with a ROC curve (AUC = 0.78) including FFM, handgrip strength, and TMT. The optimal cut-off point for maximum efficiency was 1.58 cm for TMT (sensitivity = 71.4% and specificity = 51.5%). However, we did not observe differences in the TMT among groups of greater/less frailty based on the SARC-F, SPPB, and TUG (p > 0.05). Conclusions: MUSs, which correlated with the BIA (R = 0.4; p < 0.02), complemented the diagnosis, identifying regional sarcopenia of the quadriceps in frail patients with diabetes and improving the ROC curve to AUC = 0.78. In addition, a TMT cut-off point for the diagnosis of sarcopenia of 1.58 cm was obtained. Larger studies to validate the MUS technique as a screening strategy are warranted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Musculoskeletal Biology: Impact of Ageing and Disease)
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11 pages, 995 KiB  
Article
Sarcopenia Is Associated with an Increased Risk of Postoperative Complications Following Total Hip Arthroplasty for Osteoarthritis
by Kenny Chang, J. Alex Albright, Edward J. Testa, Alanna B. Balboni, Alan H. Daniels and Eric Cohen
Biology 2023, 12(2), 295; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12020295 - 13 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2226
Abstract
Sarcopenia is a state of catabolic muscle wasting prevalent in geriatric patients. Likewise, osteoarthritis is an age-related musculoskeletal disease affecting patients with similar demographics. Late-stage hip osteoarthritis is often treated with total hip arthroplasty (THA). As sarcopenia influences the surgical outcomes, this study [...] Read more.
Sarcopenia is a state of catabolic muscle wasting prevalent in geriatric patients. Likewise, osteoarthritis is an age-related musculoskeletal disease affecting patients with similar demographics. Late-stage hip osteoarthritis is often treated with total hip arthroplasty (THA). As sarcopenia influences the surgical outcomes, this study aimed to assess the impact of sarcopenia on the outcomes of THA. A 1:3 matched case–control study of sarcopenic to control patients was performed using a large national database. In total, 3992 patients were analyzed. Sarcopenic patients undergoing THA were more likely to experience dislocation (odds ratio (OR) = 2.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.21–3.91) within 1 year of THA. Furthermore, sarcopenic patients had higher urinary tract infection rates (OR = 1.79, CI 1.32–2.42) and a greater risk of 90-day hospital readmission (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.39, CI 1.10–1.77). Sarcopenic patients experienced more falls (OR = 1.62, CI 1.10–2.39) and fragility fractures (OR = 1.77, CI 1.34–2.31). Similarly, sarcopenic patients had higher day of surgery costs (USD 13,534 vs. USD 10,504) and 90-day costs (USD 17,139 vs. USD 13,394) compared with the controls. Ultimately, sarcopenic patients undergoing THA experience higher rates of postoperative complications and incur greater medical costs. Given the potential risks, orthopedic surgeons may consider treating or reducing the severity of sarcopenia before surgery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Musculoskeletal Biology: Impact of Ageing and Disease)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Role of muscle ultrasound for the study of frailty in patients with diabetes: a pilot study.
Author: Simó Servat
Highlights: N/A

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