Objectives: Myostatin has been assumed to be involved in the development of sarcopenia in patients with chronic liver disease, but the effect of hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination on myostatin is unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of a sustained virologic response at 24 wk (SVR24) after direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy on serum myostatin levels in patients infected with HCV.
Methods: In this single-center retrospective study based on data collected from a university hospital, we analyzed patients infected with HCV who were treated with DAA between 2014 and 2017. We compared the serum myostatin level before and after DAA treatment and evaluated the correlation between myostatin and laboratory data.
Results: In the 91 participants, the median myostatin level at the start of DAA and after achieving an SVR24 were 3042 (924-10177) and 3349 (498-7963) pg/mL, respectively. There was no significant difference in the myostatin level between the start of DAA treatment and after achieving an SVR24 (P = 0.79). The serum myostatin levels were significantly higher in men than in women and in patients with cirrhosis than in patients with chronic hepatitis both at the start of DAA and after achieving an SVR24. Serum myostatin levels showed a significant positive correlation with the skeletal muscle index and liver fibrosis markers (e.g., type Ⅳ collagen 7S, aspartate aminotransferase-platelet ratio index score, and fibrosis-4 index).
Conclusions: Viral eradication by DAA treatment did not decrease the serum myostatin level in patients infected with HCV.
Keywords: Hepatitis C virus; Liver fibrosis marker; Serum myostatin; Skeletal muscle index; Sustained virologic response.
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