Mitochondrial stress bridge: Could muscle-derived extracellular vesicles be the missing link between sarcopenia, insulin resistance, and chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity? - 07/01/26
Abstract |
Sarcopenia is currently considered a systemic condition that goes beyond muscle atrophy to include multifunctional metabolic and cardiovascular dysfunction. The mediators between skeletal muscle loss and entire body insulin resistance and increased vulnerability to cardiotoxicity caused by chemotherapy are not clear. We hypothesise that mitochondrial-enriched, muscle-secreted extracellular vesicles (EVs) of mtDNA/mitoproteins, stress-regulated microRNAs (miR-1/133/206; miR-29 family), and ROS-modified damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) are a mitochondrial stress bridge that secretes danger signals from sarcopenic muscle to the liver/adipose and heart. EV cargo mechanistically impairs insulin signaling (IRS-1 → PI3K-AKT → GLUT4) and cardiomyocyte pre-injury (loss of Δpsm, antioxidant repression, apoptosis), increasing the toxicity of doxorubicin. Should this framework be valid, it describes the clustering of sarcopenic patients with metabolic dysfunction and disproportional cardiotoxic incidents throughout cancer therapy and places circulating EV cargo as an indicator of outcomes and therapeutic interventions.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Graphical Abstract |
Highlights |
• | Muscle-derived EVs act as a “mitochondrial stress bridge” linking sarcopenia, insulin resistance, and cardiotoxicity. |
• | Dysfunctional EV cargo impairs insulin signaling and primes cardiomyocytes for anthracycline-induced mitochondrial injury. |
• | Sarcopenic cancer patients face amplified risks of metabolic dysfunction and chemotherapy-related heart toxicity. |
• | The hypothesis unites muscle, metabolic, and cardiac dysfunctions into a single, testable mechanistic framework. |
• | EV profiling may yield biomarkers and therapeutic targets to guide personalized strategies in vulnerable patients. |
Keywords : Extracellular vesicles, Sarcopenia, Insulin resistance, Chemotherapy, Cardiotoxicity, Mitochondrial stress
Plan
Vol 193
Article 118814- décembre 2025 Retour au numéroBienvenue sur EM-consulte, la référence des professionnels de santé.
L’accès au texte intégral de cet article nécessite un abonnement.
Déjà abonné à cette revue ?

