Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34821076›Full record

Observational studyJournal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle2022

Sepsis induces interleukin 6, gp130/JAK2/STAT3, and muscle wasting.

Lukas Zanders, Melanie Kny, Alexander Hahn, Sibylle Schmidt, Sebastian Wundersitz, Mihail Todiras, Ines Lahmann, Arnab Bandyopadhyay, Tobias Wollersheim, Lars Kaderali and 4 more

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07017517 (Effect of Physical Therapy on NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation and Muscle Atrophy in Critical Illness Myopathy), which is not on this map. Cited by 132 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
132citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
16.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT07017517 narecruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Effect of Physical Therapy on NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation and Muscle Atrophy in Critical Illness Myopathy (PT-NLRP3-CIM).

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of ChileRan2026 to 2027Enrolled24ConditionsCritical Illness MyopathyArmsMotomed Letto® servo-assisted cycling + standard physiotherapy, Standard physiotherapy
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

132 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 198 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Interleukin-39 is a Prognostic Biomarker and Therapy Target for Sepsis.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. The Conjugated Bile Acids Profile Suggests a Novel Liver-Muscle Axis Associated With Sarcopenia in Chronic Liver Disease.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2026
    Article
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Parthenolide Attenuates Skeletal Muscle Atrophy Through Regulation of Protein Homeostasis and Inhibition of Inflammation.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Review

72 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Lukas ZandersExperimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin, Germany.
Melanie KnyExperimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin, Germany.
Alexander HahnExperimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin, Germany.
Sibylle SchmidtExperimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin, Germany.
Sebastian WundersitzExperimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin, Germany.
Mihail TodirasCardiovascular hormones, Max Delbrück Center (MDC) for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin, Germany.
Ines LahmannDevelopmental Biology/Signal Transduction, Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
Arnab BandyopadhyayInstitute of Bioinformatics, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Tobias WollersheimAnesthesiology and operative Intensive Care Medicine, Charité Campus Virchow and Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany.
Lars KaderaliInstitute of Bioinformatics, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Friedrich C LuftExperimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin, Germany.
Carmen BirchmeierDevelopmental Biology/Signal Transduction, Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
Steffen Weber-CarstensAnesthesiology and operative Intensive Care Medicine, Charité Campus Virchow and Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany.
Jens FielitzExperimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-8522-1045
Max Delbrück Center · DEBerlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin · DEUniversitätsmedizin Greifswald · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSepsis and inflammation can cause intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICUAW). Increased interleukin-6 (IL-6) plasma levels are a risk factor for ICUAW. IL-6 signalling involves the glycoprotein 130 (gp130) receptor and the JAK/STAT-pathway, but its role in sepsis-induced muscle wasting is uncertain. In a clinical observational study, we found that the IL-6 target gene, SOCS3, was increased in skeletal muscle of ICUAW patients indicative for JAK/STAT-pathway activation. We tested the hypothesis that the IL-6/gp130-pathway mediates ICUAW muscle atrophy.

methodsWe sequenced RNA (RNAseq) from tibialis anterior (TA) muscle of cecal ligation and puncture-operated (CLP) and sham-operated wildtype (WT) mice. The effects of the IL-6/gp130/JAK2/STAT3-pathway were investigated by analysing the atrophy phenotype, gene expression, and protein contents of C2C12 myotubes. Mice lacking Il6st, encoding gp130, in myocytes (cKO) and WT controls, as well as mice treated with the JAK2 inhibitor AG490 or vehicle were exposed to CLP or sham surgery for 24 or 96 h.

resultsAnalyses of differentially expressed genes in RNAseq (≥2-log2-fold change, P < 0.01) revealed an activation of IL-6-signalling and JAK/STAT-signalling pathways in muscle of septic mice, which occurred after 24 h and lasted at least for 96 h during sepsis. IL-6 treatment of C2C12 myotubes induced STAT3 phosphorylation (three-fold, P < 0.01) and Socs3 mRNA expression (3.1-fold, P < 0.01) and caused myotube atrophy. Knockdown of Il6st diminished IL-6-induced STAT3 phosphorylation (-30.0%; P < 0.01), Socs3 mRNA expression, and myotube atrophy. JAK2 (- 29.0%; P < 0.01) or STAT3 inhibition (-38.7%; P < 0.05) decreased IL-6-induced Socs3 mRNA expression. Treatment with either inhibitor attenuated myotube atrophy in response to IL-6. CLP-operated septic mice showed an increased STAT3 phosphorylation and Socs3 mRNA expression in TA muscle, which was reduced in septic Il6st-cKO mice by 67.8% (P < 0.05) and 85.6% (P < 0.001), respectively. CLP caused a loss of TA muscle weight, which was attenuated in Il6st-cKO mice (WT: -22.3%, P < 0.001, cKO: -13.5%, P < 0.001; WT vs. cKO P < 0.001). While loss of Il6st resulted in a reduction of MuRF1 protein contents, Atrogin-1 remained unchanged between septic WT and cKO mice. mRNA expression of Trim63/MuRF1 and Fbxo32/Atrogin-1 were unaltered between CLP-treated WT and cKO mice. AG490 treatment reduced STAT3 phosphorylation (-22.2%, P < 0.05) and attenuated TA muscle atrophy in septic mice (29.6% relative reduction of muscle weight loss, P < 0.05). The reduction in muscle atrophy was accompanied by a reduction in Fbxo32/Atrogin-1-mRNA (-81.3%, P < 0.05) and Trim63/MuRF1-mRNA expression (-77.6%, P < 0.05) and protein content.

conclusionsIL-6 via the gp130/JAK2/STAT3-pathway mediates sepsis-induced muscle atrophy possibly contributing to ICUAW.

Indexed as

Cytokine Receptor gp130Interleukin-6Janus Kinase 2Muscular AtrophySepsisSTAT3 Transcription FactorAnimalsHumansMiceMuscle, SkeletalCytokine Receptor gp130Interleukin-6Janus Kinase 2STAT3 Transcription Factorgp130IL-6 signallingInflammationIntensive care unit acquired weaknessMuscle atrophySepsis

Identifiers

PMID34821076
PMCPMC8818599
OpenAlexW3215680661

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.