2026-10-30T00:49:04Zhttps://bayburt-rdlopen.rawdatalibrary.net/oai/requestoai:bayburt-rdlopen.rawdatalibrary.net:bayburt/108312026-10-29T19:41:09Zopenairecom_bayburt_10000col_bayburt_10001com_bayburt_10007col_bayburt_10226col_bayburt_10225The ARK2N (C18ORF25) Genetic Variant Is Associated with Muscle Fiber Size and Strength Athlete StatusÇigirtas, RukiyeBulgay, CelalKazan, Hasan HueseyinAkman, OnurSporis, GoranJohn, GeorgeYusupov, Rinat A.Sultanov, Rinat I.Zhelankin, Andrey V.Semenova, Ekaterina A.Larin, Andrey K.Kulemin, Nikolay A.Generozov, Edward V.Jurko, DamirAhmetov, Ildus I.polymorphismgenotypegene expressionSNPathlete statusweightliftingsportmolecular physiologymuscle hypertrophyskeletal muscleBackground: Data on the genetic factors contributing to inter-individual variability in muscle fiber size are limited. Recent research has demonstrated that mice lacking the Arkadia (RNF111) N-terminal-like PKA signaling regulator 2N (Ark2n; also known as C18orf25) gene exhibit reduced muscle fiber size, contraction force, and exercise capacity, along with defects in calcium handling within fast-twitch muscle fibers. However, the role of the ARK2N gene in human muscle physiology, and particularly in athletic populations, remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was threefold: (a) to compare ARK2N gene expression between power and endurance athletes; (b) to analyze the relationship between ARK2N gene expression and muscle fiber composition; and (c) to investigate the association between the functional variant of the ARK2N gene, muscle fiber size, and sport-related phenotypes. Results: We found that ARK2N gene expression was significantly higher in power athletes compared to endurance athletes (p = 0.042) and was positively associated with the proportion of oxidative fast-twitch (type IIA) muscle fibers in untrained subjects (p = 0.017, adjusted for age and sex). Additionally, we observed that the ARK2N rs6507691 T allele, which predicts high ARK2N gene expression (p = 3.8 x 10-12), was associated with a greater cross-sectional area of fast-twitch muscle fibers in strength athletes (p = 0.015) and was over-represented in world-class strength athletes (38.6%; OR = 2.2, p = 0.023) and wrestlers (33.8%; OR = 1.8, p = 0.044) compared to controls (22.0%). Conclusions: In conclusion, ARK2N appears to be a gene specific to oxidative fast-twitch myofibers, with its functional variant being associated with muscle fiber size and strength-athlete status.MDPI2024-12Articlehttps://rdlopen.rawdatalibrary.net/r/bayburt/10831https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo141206842218-1989enMETABOLITESinfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccessinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttps://bayburt-rdlopen.rawdatalibrary.net/tr/items/bayburt/10831