Biobank-Scale Plasma Proteomics Identifies Novel Biomarkers in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is characterized by substantial heterogeneity in both clinical phenotype and risk of adverse outcomes, including heart failure and sudden cardiac death. This highlights the need for robust biomarkers for risk stratification, and while previous studies have identified the role of select plasma proteins, comprehensive large-scale proteomic analyses have been limited in HCM.

We performed a case-control analysis of 2922 plasma proteins in 49 588 UK Biobank participants (100 HCM cases) to identify proteins associated with HCM. External replication analyses were performed in the deCODE Genetics Icelandic study (51 cases/38 904 controls) and All of Us (546 cases/41 049 controls) data sets. Associations with adverse clinical outcomes and cardiac endophenotypes of disease severity were further identified, and causal relationships were evaluated using Mendelian randomization. Relative biomarker importance was also assessed by joint modeling via machine learning.

We identified novel associations of ANGPT2 (angiopoietin-2) and LTBP2 (latent transforming growth factor-beta binding protein 2) with HCM, with both also showing prognostic utility for heart failure-related outcomes in HCM cases. We also confirmed the associations of established biomarkers (eg, NT-proBNP [N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide], troponins I and T) with HCM cases, cardiac imaging markers of disease severity, and adverse outcomes. Mendelian randomization analyses supported a causal effect of HCM on increasing NT-proBNP and troponin T levels.

This biobank-scale plasma proteomic study in HCM identified ANGPT2 and LTBP2 as novel HCM biomarkers with potential diagnostic and prognostic utility. These findings highlight the potential for plasma proteomics to improve risk prediction and provide insight into HCM pathobiology.