Approved Research
Discovery of proteogenomic/metabolomic signature of frailty and sarcopenia
Lay summary
Sarcopenia is a representative phenotype of aging that occurs due to various stressors, and is associated with functional decline and, ultimately, osteoporotic fractures. Despite the significant social and economic burden associated with sarcopenia, there are no available drugs for treating it. Therefore, it is important to intervene appropriately before sarcopenia progresses. To identify individuals at high risk of developing muscle loss, even at the same age, the development of predictive factors based on pathological understanding is necessary. Various multimarker analytical strategies have been attempted to evaluate sarcopenia. However, the development of markers that can predict future muscle mass or functional decline has not been achieved. Also, Considering that the myostatin and androgen receptor that multinational pharmaceutical companies targeted in the past were not effective in clinical trials, it is necessary to find new targets and mechanisms of action in the pipeline.
Therefore, we would like to discover markers for evaluating and predicting aging and its consequences can be discovered using genomic/proteomic/metabolomic data and imaging. Specifically, we would like to discover biomarkers related to the progression and prevention of muscle loss based on clinical data/genomics/proteomics/metabolomics, establish a biomarker-based model for evaluating aging using genomics/proteomics/metabolomics, identify biomarkers related to aging and develop a biometric index for aging, and to distinguish characteristics of muscle loss using various images and analyzed their relationship with prognosis such as cardiovascular disease. Project will take 1 year of data processing, and 2 years of various data analyses.
By utilizing the indicators of frailty/muscle loss as an assessment tool for elderly patients, the research would help to efficiently utilize medical resources and improved prognosis for elderly patients. Also, through the identification of markers for predicting the progression of muscle loss and treatment targets, we can expect an extension of healthy life expectancy in the elderly.