Circulating miRNAs as skeletal muscle fiber-type specific biomarkers

Purpose: A susceptibility of skeletal muscle fast fibers to muscle damage is reported following eccentric based exercise-induced muscle damage, but also following statins treatment. Skeletal muscle fiber-type specific biomarkers could be of great interest in research. We have previously shown that muscle specific/enriched miRNAs measured in the plasma were interesting biomarkers of skeletal muscle damage. These miRNAs were differentially expressed in slow or fast muscle fibers. Yet, muscle phenotype induced only limited differences on the increase of these circulating miRNAs induced by severe toxic injury. Whether milder traumatic muscle damage of a slow or a fast muscle, more representative of muscle injury in human, could influence circulating levels of these biomarkers is not known. In this study, our aim was to evaluate whether or not circulating miRNAs response could be fiber-type specific.