Evidence mapPaperPMID 41549646Full record

ArticleJournal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle2026

Association Between Abnormal DNA Methylation and Altered Transcriptome in Muscle Five Years After Critical Illness.

Ceren Uzun Ayar, Fabian Güiza, Inge Derese, Greet Van den Berghe, Ilse Vanhorebeek

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Article in Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Ceren Uzun AyarLaboratory of Intensive Care Medicine, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1395-5568
Fabian GüizaLaboratory of Intensive Care Medicine, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7026-0957
Inge DereseLaboratory of Intensive Care Medicine, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Greet Van den BergheLaboratory of Intensive Care Medicine, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5320-1362
Ilse VanhorebeekLaboratory of Intensive Care Medicine, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5261-5192

Funding

European Research Council Advanced Grants AdvG-2012-321670European Research Council Advanced Grants AdvG-2017-785809European Research Council Advanced Grants AdvG-2023-101133276European UnionResearch Foundation-Flanders G017325NResearch Foundation-Flanders G039912
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCritically ill patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission suffer from muscle weakness that persists for years. Recently, altered RNA expression was documented in muscle of former ICU patients 5 years after critical illness that suggested disrupted mitochondrial function, disturbed lipid metabolism and fibrosis, of which many associated with the former patients' long-term loss of muscle strength. We hypothesized that abnormal DNA methylation detectable years after critical illness associates with these abnormal RNA expression patterns, as a potential biological basis for the persistent loss of muscle strength.

methodsGenome-wide DNA methylation was assessed (Infiniumv2-HumanMethylationEPIC-BeadChips) in skeletal muscle biopsies from 118 former ICU patients harvested 5 years after critical illness (79.6% male, median 58 years, median BMI 27.3 kg/m

resultsAs compared with controls, former ICU patients showed 7379 DMPs (average difference 2.6% ranging up to 24.9%). They were associated with 1334 unique genes, enriched for muscle contraction, vascular development, cell differentiation and signal transduction. DMPs correlated more strongly with differentially expressed RNAs (DERNAs) than with non-differentially expressed RNAs (18.1% vs. 1.7% correlations with |rho| > 0.3, p < 2.2 × 10

conclusionsAbnormal DNA methylation in muscle biopsied 5 years after critical illness associated with long-term altered RNA expression that has been linked to lower muscle strength. These data suggest a possible epigenetic basis for this long-term sequel after critical illness. Abnormal DNA methylation was also found to associate with (possibly) avoidable risk factors during and after ICU stay. These findings may open perspectives for prevention and possibly treatment of long-term muscle weakness after critical illness.

Indexed as

Critical IllnessDNA MethylationMuscle, SkeletalTranscriptomeAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle Agedcritical illnessDNA methylationepigeneticsmuscle weaknesspost‐intensive care syndrometranscriptome

Identifiers

PMID41549646
PMCPMC12813554

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.