Blood biomarkers such as troponin I (TnI) and NT-proBNP offer valuable opportunities for early detection and intervention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in IMIDs, but their role in diagnostic pathways is yet to be determined, and protocols for appropriate use are not defined.
At the UK CARDIO-IMID Partnership we are seeking to support the multi-omics capabilities of IMID-precision medicine consortia and expertise in immunopathology of IMIDs and CVD to identify biomarker signatures of imaging-characterised inflammatory and pro-fibrotic processes that drive progression to target myocardial and/or vascular dysfunction.
To this end, we are integrating blood biomarker data (immune, metabolic) collection into the Registry Study alongside clinical, imaging phenotyping and outcome data to provide custom disease cohorts and a wealth of complex datasets for analysis. These datasets will be leveraged as part of a multi-centre feasibility study (clinical-imaging-immune) to support scalable experimental investigation to identify immunopathogenic mechanisms across CVD in IMIDs. Identification of novel mechanistic biomarkers offers potential to generate intellectual property and commercialisation opportunities with the development of in-vitro diagnostics, enhancing the UK life sciences industry.
We are also seeking to establish a broader bioresource via linkage of the UK CARDIO-IMID Registry with the NIHR IMID BioResource. The NIHR IMID BioR is managed by a partnership across three Northern BRCs; Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds. The rich datasets obtained from the Registry Study will be linked to NIHR BioR biosample collection to provide an integrated scientific resource and basis for hypothesis testing proposals.
