Anti-tumor necrosis factor-α is potentially better than tumor necrosis factor-α as the biomarker for sarcopenia: Results from the I-Lan longitudinal aging study

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is a proinflammatory cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of sarcopenia, but its short half-life and inconsistent reproducibility limit the potential of TNF-alpha to be an ideal sarcopenia biomarker. Anti-TNF-alpha, a natural consequent autoantibody to TNF-alpha, is an indicator of relatively prolonged TNF-alpha exposure, has more stable concentrations than TNF-alpha and should be a better alternative as a biomarker of sarcopenia. Data from 484 participants from the I-Lan Longitudinal Aging Study were used for this study, and sarcopenia was defined by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 consensus. Plasma levels of anti-TNF-alpha were deter-mined by a sandwich ELISA approach, and levels of TNF-alpha were determined by an immunoassay. Compared to nonsarcopenic participants, 43 sarcopenic participants had higher levels of anti-TNF-alpha (0.73 +/- 0.19 vs. 0.79 +/- 0.25 OD, p = 0.045). Plasma levels of anti-TNF-alpha were positively correlated with TNF-alpha (r = 0.24, p < 0.001), and plasma levels of anti-TNF-alpha were positively correlated with adiposity (r = 0.16, p < 0.001) and negatively correlated with lean body mass (r =-0.14, p = 0.003). Individuals with increasing levels of anti-TNF-alpha had higher odds of being sarcopenic (OR 5.4, 95 % CI: 1.1-25.8, p = 0.035), and these associations were stronger among women and younger adults. An association between TNF-alpha and sarcopenia was noted only in middle-aged adults (OR 6.2, 95 % CI: 1.8-21.7, p = 0.004). Plasma anti-TNF-alpha levels were positively correlated with TNF-alpha and were significantly associated with sarcopenia. Anti-TNF-alpha may be a more appropriate biomarker than TNF-alpha for sarcopenia, but further investigations are needed to confirm its roles in sarcopenia diagnosis and treatment response evaluation.

Automated summary

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is a proinflammatory cytokine involved in sarcopenia, but its short half-life limits its potential as a biomarker. Anti-TNF-alpha, as a natural autoantibody to TNF-alpha, has more stable concentrations and should be a better alternative biomarker for sarcopenia.