Plasma-SELEX for Acute Myocardial Infarction Biomarker Discovery and Diagnosis

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Molecular Biology
• Proteomics

Background:

• Early diagnosis of acute diseases is challenging due to limitations in plasma biomarker discovery.
• Current methods lack chemically tractable approaches for identifying disease-specific molecules in complex biological samples.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel chemical platform for integrated biomarker discovery and diagnosis directly from plasma.
• To establish a general strategy linking molecular recognition, biomarker identification, and diagnostic development for acute diseases.

Main Methods:

• Introduced PSABD (plasma-SELEX-enriched aptamer-based biomarker discovery and diagnosis), a platform using magnetic beads for plasma protein capture and in situ aptamer SELEX.
• Utilized enriched aptamers as both affinity probes and molecular handles for target capture, linking selection chemistry with proteomic discovery.
• Applied the PSABD platform to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) as a model system.

Main Results:

• Identified malate dehydrogenase 2 (MDH2) as a novel plasma biomarker associated with AMI.
• MDH2 levels were significantly elevated in AMI patient samples compared to controls.
• Selected aptamers demonstrated high binding affinity to MDH2, forming the basis for an aptamer-based diagnostic platform.
• The developed platform successfully distinguished AMI patients from healthy individuals.

Conclusions:

• PSABD provides a general and effective chemical strategy for biomarker discovery and diagnostic development from plasma.
• Aptamers serve as versatile, programmable chemical probes for acute disease diagnosis and clinical translation.
• The identification of MDH2 highlights the potential of PSABD for uncovering unexpected disease-associated biomarkers.