Project description
A new approach to heart disease detection
Diagnosing coronary artery disease (CAD) is a pressing challenge, with CAD accounting for 45 % of deaths in women and 39 % in men across the EU. Women’s CAD is often diagnosed later due to less recognisable plaque characteristics. This delay is critical as ischemic heart disease demands immediate attention. With this in mind, the ERC-funded U-BiomarCARE project seeks to address this issue by developing a PCR-based method to detect plaque-specific DNA methylation signals in plasma. If successful, this approach could revolutionise CAD detection, enabling timely and accurate identification of heart disease in both women and men, and opening doors to potential commercial applications in healthcare.
Objective
General practitioners and cardiologists are faced every day with challenging decisions on whom to refer for diagnostics of coronary artery disease (CAD) as sign and symptoms of cardiac ischemia require immediate action. Diagnosis of CAD is key as ischemic heart disease accounts for 45% of deaths in females and 39% in males in the European Union. Yet, diagnosis of CAD in women is regularly delayed and often unrecognized.
As the main pathology underlying CAD, it is essential to understand atherosclerotic plaque biology. In recent years, my research group and others have identified clear sex differences in the atherosclerotic plaque morphology and its (epi)genetic regulation. One consequence is that female plaques are more difficult to detect than male plaques, especially those which cause symptoms. As part of the ERC UCARE project, we uncovered a plaque-specific epigenetic signal in cell-free DNA from plasma of women with CAD. This signal consisted of hypomethylated regions specific for plaques that can be detected in plasma cell-free DNA. Our methods thus far have been focused on whole genome sequencing analyses. Yet, for studying the predictive value of these regions in large cohorts of patients with CAD, as well as exploring commercial potential, we need to develop a more specific methodology.
Our aim in this current U-BiomarCARE project is to investigate if the methylation status of plaque-specific regions can be detected in plasma with a PCR-based method. Once we prove that this methodology is reproducible and comparable to whole genome DNA methylation sequencing, we can perform large biomarker studies in both women and men suspected of heart disease and explore potential commercialization of plaque-specific cell-free DNA methylation profiles to accurately detect CAD. This will be a game changer for the healthcare sector as it will allow a specific and timely detection of dangerous atherosclerotic plaques both in men and women.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pathology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-POC
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3584 CX Utrecht
Netherlands
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