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Procollagen type III N-terminal peptide (P3NP) and lean mass: a cross-sectional study
Sarah D Berry1, Vasan S Ramachandran, Peggy M Cawthon
1Hebrew SeniorLife, Institute for Aging Research & Harvard Medical School, 1200 Centre Street, Boston, MA 02131. (SDB, RRM, DPK); Boston University School of Medicine, 671 Harrison Avenue, Harrison Court B06, Boston, MA 02118. (RSV, LAC); Boston University, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, 111 Cummington St., Boston, MA 02115 (PG); NHLBI Framingham Heart Study (PG); California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, Suite 5700, 185 Berry Street, San Francisco, CA 94107. (PC).
Background:
Procollagen type III N-terminal peptide (P3NP) is released during collagen synthesis in muscle. Increased circulating P3NP is a marker not only of muscle growth, but also of muscle repair and fibrosis. Thus, P3NP may be a potential biomarker for sarcopenia.
Objective:
To determine the association between plasma P3NP and lean mass and strength.
Design Setting And Participants:
A cross-sectional study of men and women from the Framingham Offspring Study. Participants included a convenience sample of 687 members with a measure of plasma P3NP and lean mass, and 806 members with P3NP and quadriceps strength assessment.
Measurements:
Linear regression was used to estimate the association between total and appendicular lean mass and plasma P3NP, and quadriceps strength and P3NP.
Results:
Mean age was 58 years. Median plasma P3NP was similar in men (3.4 mg/L), premenopausal women (3.1 mg/L), and postmenopausal women (3.0 mg/L). In adjusted models, higher P3NP was associated with a modest decrease in total and appendicular lean mass in postmenopausal women [β= -0.13 unit P3NP/kg total lean mass; p=0.003]. A similar trend was found among premenopausal women, although results were not statistically significant [β=-0.10 unit P3NP/kg total lean mass; p=0.41]. No association between P3NP and lean mass was observed in men. P3NP was not associated with strength in men or women.
Conclusion:
Our results suggest that plasma P3NP might be a useful biomarker of muscle mass in postmenopausal women if longitudinal studies demonstrate that it has adequate sensitivity and specificity to predict muscle loss.
