Measuring Inflammation in Ageing Muscle With the PrimePlex Multiplex Service
A UKM biochemistry team studied whether tocotrienols protect ageing muscle. Prima Nexus measured the inflammatory markers IL-6 and TNF-alpha with its PrimePlex multiplex assay service.
Case study · From a published paper · PrimePlex multiplex protein detection
The challenge
Sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and function, is driven by oxidative stress, chronic inflammation and genomic instability. The team wanted to know whether a tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF), a potent antioxidant form of vitamin E, could modulate these pathways in ageing muscle, and how its effects line up with the muscle's metabolic profile.
What Prima Nexus did
Plasma levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were measured with the PrimePlex Multiplex Protein Detection assay service from Prima Nexus: a multiplex platform that measures several biomarkers in a single panel.
What the study found
Young (3 months) and old (21 months) male Sprague-Dawley rats received TRF at 60 mg/kg a day for three months, or the carrier oil (palm olein) alone, with ten animals per group. Ageing raised oxidative damage, pro-inflammatory markers and DNA fragmentation, and lowered antioxidant enzyme activity.
TRF did not restore muscle mass or body composition, but it strengthened antioxidant defence (higher superoxide dismutase and catalase activity), reduced lipid peroxidation, dampened inflammatory responses, preserved DNA integrity and improved muscle histology. The authors conclude that TRF acts mainly as a preventive intervention for muscle health during ageing.
Why it matters
Inflammatory markers such as IL-6 and TNF-alpha are central to ageing research. Reading them together in one panel saves sample and time. Prima Nexus runs PrimePlex multiplex panels as a service for research teams in Malaysia.
In the paper's own words
“Plasma levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were measured using the PrimePlex Multiplex Protein Detection assay service provided by Prima Nexus Sdn Bhd (Selangor, Malaysia), a multiplex platform that enables simultaneous analysis of multiple biomarkers within a single panel.”
British Journal of Biomedical Science, 2026, Methods
About Prima Nexus
Prima Nexus Sdn Bhd is a Malaysian research coordination group founded in 2014. It connects universities, research institutes and global technology partners, and runs eight scientific platforms under one roof: proteomics (including ELISA and Luminex multiplex immunoassays), genomics, flow cytometry, stem cell research, animal research, clinical trials, bioinformatics, and regulatory and grant support. Programmes it coordinates have supported more than 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals and research teams at more than 40 institutions across Malaysia. More about Prima Nexus.
