Study of sarcopenia in human muscle biopsies of elderly individuals, Singapore Sarcopenia Study

Purpose: The main goal of this study is to compare skeletal muscle transcriptome profilings derived from sarcopenic versus healthy subjects. Methods: We use high coverage RNA sequencing of human skeletal muscle biopsies to analyze genome-wide transcriptional changes in human sarcopenia benchmarked to healthy elderly controls. Results: Muscle transcriptomic profiles demonstrate a prominent signature of mitochondrial dysfunction in sarcopenic patients. Conclusions: Our study supports the fundamental role of mitochondrial dysfunction in driving pathological muscle and mobility decline in the elderly. Overall design: 20 muscle biopsies from healthy subjects and 20 muscle biopsies from sarcopenic subjects.