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HomeCirculationVol. 141, No. 13From the Literature Free AccessNewsPDF/EPUBAboutView PDFView EPUBSections ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationsTrack citationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InMendeleyReddit Jump toFree AccessNewsPDF/EPUBFrom the Literature Tracy Hampton, PhD Tracy HamptonTracy Hampton Search for more papers by this author Originally published30 Mar 2020https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.046508Circulation. 2020;141:1101–1102Scientists Develop Blood-Based “Liquid Health Check”New research indicates that the expression patterns of an array of proteins in the blood are linked with multiple different health states, future disease risks, and lifestyle behaviors.In a study published in Nature Medicine, a team led by investigators at SomaLogic, Inc, and the University of California–San Francisco used small DNA fragments called aptamers (binding reagents akin to antibodies) to scan ~5000 proteins in a single blood draw from each of 16 894 participants, for a total of ~85 million protein measurements.“Unlike genetic risk factors that do not change during one’s lifetime, protein risk scores are responsive to modifications in environment, diet, lifestyle behaviors, and any drugs,” said first author Dr Stephen Williams. “We thus envision that protein-based risk scores would be regularly tracked over one’s lifetime to inform changes in risk and need for any treatments and lifestyle changes.”Download figureDownload PowerPointNew research indicates that protein expression patterns in the blood provide insights on patients’ different health states, future disease risks, and lifestyle behaviors.The scientists assessed patterns of scanned plasma proteins for 6 health states (liver fat, kidney filtration, percentage body fat, visceral fat mass, lean body mass, and cardiopulmonary fitness), 3 behaviors (physical activity, alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoking), and 2 future disease risks (diabetes within 10 years and primary cardiovascular event within 5 years). Applying sophisticated machine learning computer approaches to the researchers’ data revealed protein expression patterns that correlated with these 11 different measures.Some of the patterns had high predictive powers, such as for percentage body fat. Others demonstrated only modest prognostic power, such as that for cardiovascular risk, but even this was still modestly better than traditional risk factors.“Cardiologists are already accepting of the use of individual blood proteins measurements—such as C-reactive protein, troponin, and BNP—to predict the presence or risk of one cardiovascular condition at a time, but the idea of a liquid health check is to use protein scanning on a large scale to simultaneously predict the risk of numerous cardiovascular and noncardiovascular conditions at once and holistically identify an individual’s state of health,” said co–senior author Dr Peter Ganz. “The results of our study show that scanning of the levels of thousands of blood proteins can simultaneously capture the necessary information to deliver a one-stop test for personalized detection, prevention, and treatment of many diseases,” added co–senior author Dr Nicholas Wareham.Williams SA et al. Plasma protein patterns as comprehensive indicators of health. Nat Med. 2019;25:1851–1857. doi: 10.1038/s41591-019-0665-2Scientists Identify Cell Population That Contributes to Heart DiseaseNew research in mice indicates that significant proportions of cells with characteristics of cardiac fibroblasts differentiate into pathogenic cell types and contribute to damage after myocardial infarction. Strategies aimed at modifying the cells’ activity may help to treat diverse cardiac diseases.The cells, which are characterized by the expression of PDGFRα (platelet-derived growth factor receptor α) and the stem cell marker SCA-1 (stem cell antigen-1), are referred to as fibro-adipogenic progenitors because of their ability to generate fibroblasts as well as adipocytes, or fat cells. In a study published in Cell Stem Cell, investigators found that such PDGFRα+ and SCA-1+ cells differentiate into fibrogenic cells in response to ischemic damage. Blocking this differentiation with nilotinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is known to target proteins involved in fibrosis, led to improved cardiac function after myocardial infarction.In the undamaged heart, activating cardiac fibro-adipogenic progenitors by deleting the gene encoding HIC1 (hypermethylated in cancer 1), a transcriptional repressor that controls the expression of cell-cycle genes, revealed additional pathogenic effects and clinical signs reminiscent of human arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, an inherited cardiac disease characterized by replacement of myocardium with fibrofatty deposits, leading to life-threatening arrhythmias.The authors noted that targeting fibro-adipogenic progenitor differentiation is a viable therapeutic strategy, but nilotinib’s potential cardiotoxicity raises questions about its long-term use in patients after myocardial infarction. Therefore, they recommend testing alternative tyrosine kinase inhibitors.“We propose that inhibiting the differentiation of stromal progenitors immediately after scar formation in such patients will prevent the spread of interstitial fibrosis and improve outcomes,” said senior author Dr Fabio Rossi, of the University of British Columbia, in Canada.Soliman H et al. Pathogenic potential of Hic1-expressing cardiac stromal progenitors. Cell Stem Cell. 2020;26:205–220. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2019.12.008Alternate Day Fasting Improves Cardiovascular Markers in Clinical TrialCalorie restriction is known to offer antiaging and longevity benefits to a variety of species, but humans hoping to reap similar health benefits struggle with successfully adopting this strategy. A recent clinical trial indicates that alternate day fasting provokes similar effects on the cardiovascular system and body composition as continuous calorie restriction, and it was safe when sustained for several months.In the Cell Metabolism trial of 60 nonobese healthy middle-aged adults, those who fasted every other day could consume only water and unsweetened black or green tea or coffee on fasting days, but they could eat whatever they wanted on other days. The fasting participants cut their average calorie intake by 37% over 4 weeks, and they lost an average of 4.5% of body weight.The dietary change also improved certain cardiovascular markers, including reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure, arterial and pulse pressure, and pulse wave velocity; lowered fat mass; improved participants’ fat-to-lean mass ratio; and increased β-hydroxybutyrate, a ketone with antiaging and cardioprotective properties. On fasting days, blood levels of the aminoacid methionine, a proaging marker, dropped transiently, and polyunsaturated fatty acid levels rose. Participants’ systolic blood pressure dropped from an average 121 mm Hg to 115 mm Hg, compared with no change in controls.In analyses of 30 people who had already practiced more than 6 months of strict alternate day fasting, no adverse effects were reported, and investigators found reduced levels of an age-associated inflammatory marker (sICAM-1 [soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1]), low-density lipoprotein, and a metabolic regulator (triiodothyronine).The study’s investigators cautioned against initiating an alternate day fasting regimen without consulting a clinician, even for healthy adults. The types of food consumed in this or any diet will have important effects on health. “Although not directly assessed in this study, a wholesome and balanced diet is likely crucial to foster the beneficial effects caused by alternate day fasting,” the authors wrote.Stekovic S et al. Alternate day fasting improves physiological and molecular markers of aging in healthy, non-obese humans. Cell Metab. 2019;30:462–476. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2019.07.016Footnoteshttps://www.ahajournals.org/journal/circ Previous Back to top Next FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails March 31, 2020Vol 141, Issue 13 Advertisement Article InformationMetrics © 2020 American Heart Association, Inc.https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.046508 Originally publishedMarch 30, 2020 PDF download Advertisement