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Updated: May 26, 2026
A Sensitive and Specific Quantitation Method for Determination of Serum Cardiac Myosin Binding Protein-C by Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay
Published on: August 8, 2013
LMS-based continuous reference values for the myokine musclin in serum in children and adults
Anne Schön1, Hannah Weber1, Katharina Schermuly1
1Department of Pediatric Kidney, Liver, Metabolic and Neurological Diseases, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Background:
Musclin is a myokine which is linked to muscle activity and systemic metabolic regulation. Age-specific reference values for serum musclin are lacking in both the pediatric and adult population, limiting the interpretation of circulating musclin concentrations in clinical practice and studies.
Objectives:
To establish Lambda-Mu-Sigma (LMS)-based continuous age-specific reference values for serum musclin in children and adults.
Methods:
Musclin concentrations were measured in serum by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 399 children (190 girls) aged 0.1-18 years from the HAnnover Reference values for Pediatrics (HARP) cohort and in 502 adults (257 female) aged 18-70 years from the HAnnover Reference values for Adults (HARA) cohort. LMS-based continuous reference percentiles were generated using RefCurv software.
Results:
Serum musclin concentrations were significantly associated with age (p<0.001) but not with sex. Across the 3rd-75th percentiles, musclin concentrations increased continuously from infancy to adulthood. In the 75th-97th percentiles, serum musclin rose up to approximately 40-55 years of age and then showed a gradual decline until 70 years. Women taking estrogen-containing oral contraceptives had significantly lower musclin serum concentrations compared to age-matched women not using hormonal contraception.
Conclusions:
This study provides the first LMS-based continuous pediatric and adult reference percentiles for serum musclin, enabling the calculation of age-adjusted patient z-scores. This facilitates test result interpretation in children and adults in the clinic and studies.
