Application

Diagnostic panel to determine severity of coronary artery disease using plasma-based biomarkers of microparticle vesicles and isoforms of specific miRNAs (isomiRs).

Key Benefits

• Predictive risk diagnostic aids in clinicians' course of treatment decisions.
• Identifies underlying biological function of biomarkers for potential use of personalized medicine.
• Utilizes current plasma based biomarker detection technology allowing for quick adoption.

Market Summary

Coronary artery disease (CAD) occurs as a result of the coronary arteries becoming blocked to the extent that blood flow to the musculature of the heart is reduced. Severe CAD causes ischemia of the heart muscle, which can lead to heart attacks and is a major cause of death in the Western world. Currently, no single test can diagnosis CAD, but the disease state is determined from a variety of clinical factors including patient's history, family history, and cholesterol levels. Therefore, physicians must order and analyze a battery of tests to determine the proper course of treatment for their patients, which is a time consuming and costly process. A simplified diagnostic panel based on plasma biomarkers would allow for risk stratification of patient populations and aid in physicians' treatment choices.

Technical Summary

Emory researchers have identified 8 plasma based biomarkers associated with CAD and cardiac events. These biomarkers include microparticle vesicles (MV) and 7 isoform of specific miRNAs (isomiRs). The seven isomiRs are more abundant in human blood than their archetypal miRNAs, predictive of CAD severity, and predictive of myocardial infarction. Through plasma fractionation, the MV particles can be counted and isomiRs can be determined in whole plasma, the MV fraction of plasma, and the non-MV fraction of plasma. The specific identification of isomiRs within these populations and the number of MV can predict significant CAD with 96% accuracy and cardiac events with 82% accuracy. A particular combination of two isomiRs, each assessed in a different fraction of plasma, can be 94% accurate in predicting significant CAD and 85% accurate in predicting cardiac events.

Developmental Stage

• Panel of 7 isomiRs have been identified as biomarkers for CAD.
• Panel measured in blood samples of 71 patients.