A multicenter study has analyzed samples from 34 COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) patients to identify proteins acting as long-term mortality biomarkers. The project has now moved into a new phase, expanding the study sample to 200 individuals, including patients and control groups.
This research was done participation from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and the Research Programme on Biomedical Informatics (GRIB), a joint unit of Pompeu Fabra University and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute. And it has, for the first time, identified the ability of certain proteins to predict death in patients who are otherwise in good health.
In total, 31 proteins, out of the 363 identified in blood samples, were found to vary significantly among patients. These proteins were associated with the inflammatory-immune system and coagulation markers. Using these proteins, several predictive models were developed with the assistance of an artificial intelligence (AI) program designed by GRIB. The models predicted patient deterioration with 90% accuracy. When focusing solely on the ten proteins related to coagulation, the biomarker accuracy increased to 95%.
One remarkable finding is that, despite being a respiratory disease, the most critical marker proteins are related to cardiovascular risk. This suggests that cardiovascular health should be closely monitored, in addition to respiratory health, in patients who appear to be in good condition but exhibit abnormal levels of these biomarkers, enabling a personalized and closer follow-up.
Enríquez-Rodríguez, C.J., Casadevall, C., Faner, R., Pascual-Guardia, S., Castro-Acosta, A., López-Campos, J.L., Peces-Barba, G., Seijo, L., Caguana-Vélez, O.A., Monsó, E., Rodríguez-Chiaradia, D., Barreiro, E., Cosío, B.G., Agustí, A., Gea, J. (2024). On Behalf Of The Biomepoc Group. A Pilot Study on Proteomic Predictors of Mortality in Stable COPD, Cells, 13(16):1351. doi: 10.3390/cells13161351
