U-BiomarCAPTURE · Developing a Capture-Based Biomarker Assay Using cfDNA Methylation to Detect High-Risk Atherosclerotic Plaques in the Circulation

The holy grail in cardiology is to identify high-risk atherosclerotic plaques that may cause a myocardial infarction. This is especially relevant for women, who often experience misdiagnosis or delays in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Current diagnostic methods are invasive, expensive, and fail to provide precise and timely insights into the state of the plaque. The U-BiomarCAPTURE approach builds on insights from the ERC CoG UCARE and ERC PoC U-BiomarCARE projects, where we identified sex-specific differences in plaque gene regulation and detected plaque-specific DNA methylation signals in cfDNA. U-BiomarCAPTURE project aims to create a more sensitive and scalable method for detecting high-risk plaques in cardiovascular patients, significantly reducing the likelihood of missing cases.U-BiomarCAPTURE is a blood-based biomarker assay designed to predict the presence of high-risk plaques (erosion or rupture) in both female and male patients presenting with signs and symptoms of ischemia. The key advantage of our blood-based marker over imaging techniques is that it does not require patients to be sent to the hospital, offering significant benefits in an overloaded healthcare system. Our development of the first biomarker assay for predicting high-risk plaques will represent a breakthrough in cardiovascular care. This innovation is a potential game changer for the healthcare sector, enabling the specific and timely detection of dangerous atherosclerotic plaques.