{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:36:57Z","timestamp":1760060217000,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,14]],"date-time":"2025-08-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1755129600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"The National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF)","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RS-2021-NR060107","RS-2021-NR059450"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2021-NR060107","RS-2021-NR059450"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"The Korea government (MSIT)","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RS-2021-NR060107","RS-2021-NR059450"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2021-NR060107","RS-2021-NR059450"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Sarcopenia, the age-related decline in skeletal muscle mass and function, is a growing health concern in aging populations. Nutritional interventions are increasingly recognized for their therapeutic potential; however, molecular biomarkers that reflect their efficacy are limited. To identify nutrition-responsive genes relevant to sarcopenia, we performed transcriptomic profiling of gastrocnemius muscle from mature and middle-aged mice. Aging-associated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were filtered based on expression levels and correlation with muscle mass. Functional food interventions, including high- and low-molecular-weight collagen hydrolysates and allulose, were applied, and effect scores were calculated to assess transcriptomic responsiveness. Ajuba, a gene involved in cytoskeletal regulation and tissue remodeling, was significantly downregulated in middle-aged mice, consistent with aging-associated muscle decline. Dietary supplementation restored Ajuba expression across all intervention groups, with the strongest effect observed in the high-molecular-weight collagen group. Ajuba expression also showed strong positive correlations with tibialis anterior mass, hindlimb thickness, and muscle-to-fat ratio. Ajuba was identified as a nutritionally modifiable gene with strong associations to muscle phenotype and dietary response. These findings support Ajuba as a transcriptomic biomarker and potential molecular target for precision nutrition strategies aimed at preventing or mitigating sarcopenia.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms26167869","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,14]],"date-time":"2025-08-14T15:44:21Z","timestamp":1755186261000},"page":"7869","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Ajuba as a Potential Nutrition-Responsive Biomarker for the Prevention of Age-Related Sarcopenia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2270-8176","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Youngji","family":"Han","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Bio-Medical Research Institute, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Daegu 41940, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Seung Pil","family":"Pack","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biological Clock-Based Anti-Aging Convergence RLRC, Korea University, Sejong-ro 2511, Sejong 30019, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Korea University, Sejong-ro 2511, Sejong 30019, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gustafsson, T., and Ulfhake, B. 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