We are excited to introduce a new study evaluating sarcopenia in Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD).
ILD includes over 200 conditions that cause inflammation and/or fibrosis in the lungs, affecting 4.71 million people worldwide. Risk factors include aging, smoking, male sex, and genetics. Diagnosing ILD involves clinical evaluation, imaging, lung biopsy and tests to measure lung function and exercise capacity.
Sarcopenia, a progressive loss of muscle mass and strength, affects over 50 million people. It can be related to aging (primary) or other causes (secondary), with risk factors similar to ILD: aging, smoking, male sex and genetics. Sarcopenia is assessed through clinical symptoms, grip strength, body composition and physical performance.
Aging plays a significant role, with muscle loss occurring at 3-8% per decade after age 30 and accelerating after age 60. Grip strength peaks at 30 years and declines after 40. Older adults experience muscle contractions that are 30% slower than younger people. ILD and sarcopenia are interrelated, worsening each other through shared risk factors. ILD limits physical activity, accelerating muscle loss (sarcopenia), while sarcopenia itself weakens respiratory muscles, making ILD worse.
Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation are common mechanisms in both conditions. In ILD, they lead to lung tissue remodelling and fibrosis (scarring). In sarcopenia, they cause muscle loss and weakness. Inflammation also speeds up muscle protein breakdown in sarcopenia and leads to fibrosis in inflamed lung tissue in ILD.
Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) offer a minimally-invasive procedure to reflect changes in muscle and lung tissue. Transcriptomics research (gene expression profiling) points to a T cell gene signature in ILD, while gene expression analysis in PBMCs aligns with muscle biopsy findings in sarcopenia.
Our hypothesis is that transcriptomics analysis will reveal shared cellular and molecular mechanisms between ILD and sarcopenia. PhD student, Osama Alsuhimi, aims to conduct a systematic review to evaluate the impact of sarcopenia on patients with ILD; a feasibility study to assess clinical outcomes at an individual level; and use single-cell RNA (gene) sequencing techniques to characterise and compare the immune cell profiles in peripheral blood samples from ILD patients with and without sarcopenia.
Osama reports, “I am excited to have the opportunity to work with Professor Porter and her team to understand the intricate relationship between sarcopenia and ILD that could pave the way for advanced research strategies and potential new treatments.”.
Posted July 2024