Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39949133›Full record

ArticleJournal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle2025

Association Analysis of the Circulating Proteome With Sarcopenia-Related Traits Reveals Potential Drug Targets for Sarcopenia.

Simin Wen, Siqi Xu, Xizeng Zong, Shifeng Wen, Wende Xiao, Weipeng Zheng, Han Cen, Zhaohua Zhu, Jingyu Xie, Yan Zhang and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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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

12 authors.

Simin WenDepartment of Orthopedics, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.ORCID 0000-0001-8011-0493
Siqi XuDepartment of Orthopedics, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Xizeng ZongDepartment of Orthopedics, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Shifeng WenDepartment of Orthopedics, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Wende XiaoDepartment of Orthopedics, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Weipeng ZhengDepartment of Orthopedics, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Han CenClinical Research Centre, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Zhaohua ZhuClinical Research Centre, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Jingyu XieDepartment of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Yan ZhangClinical Research Centre, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Changhai DingClinical Research Centre, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
Guangfeng RuanDepartment of Orthopedics, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.

Funding

Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation 2023A1515011518Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation 2023A1515011767National Natural Science Foundation of China 82102317National Natural Science Foundation of China 82472478Science and Technology Projects in Guangzhou 2024A04J4015
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSarcopenia severely affects the physical health of the elderly. Currently, there is no specific drug available for sarcopenia. This study aims to identify pathogenic proteins and druggable targets for sarcopenia through Mendelian randomization (MR)-based analytical framework.

methodsA sequential stepwise screening method that includes two-sample MR, Steiger filtering test and colocalization (MRSC) was applied to identify causal proteins associated with sarcopenia-related traits. In the MR analyses, 4372 circulating proteins with valid instrumental variables (IVs) from eight proteomic genome-wide association studies were utilized as exposures, and nine sarcopenia-related traits were utilized as outcomes. IVs were classified into cis-protein quantitative trait loci (pQTLs) and trans-pQTLs based on their positions. We conducted cis-only MRSC analyses and cis + trans MRSC analyses using cis-pQTLs and cis + trans pQTLs as IVs, respectively. Post-MRSC analyses were conducted on the prioritized findings of MRSC, including annotation of protein-altering variants (PAVs), assessment of overlap between pQTLs and expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs), protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis, pathway enrichment analysis and annotation of drug targets. Utilizing data from the UK Biobank, we performed an observational study to explore the associations between baseline circulating protein levels and the longitudinal changes in nine sarcopenia-related traits.

resultsA total of 181 causal associations for 65 proteins were prioritized by the cis-only MRSC analyses and 227 associations for 91 proteins were prioritized by the cis + trans MRSC analyses. Among the prioritized proteins, the majority of them employed non-PAVs as IVs and most of their cis-pQTLs overlapped with corresponding eQTLs and exhibited consistent directionality, with only one trans-pQTL overlapping with an eQTL. The PPI network of cis-only MRSC-prioritized proteins (p = 4.04 × 10

conclusionsThis study identified 89 potential pathogenic proteins and 197 candidate biomarkers for sarcopenia, providing valuable clues for the development of therapeutic drugs for sarcopenia.

Indexed as

ProteomeSarcopeniaAgedGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansMaleMendelian Randomization AnalysisProteomicsQuantitative Trait LociProteomecirculating proteomedrug targetsMendelian randomizationsarcopenia

Identifiers

PMID39949133
PMCPMC11825984

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Registered trials

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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.