Approved Research

Integrative analysis of the plasma proteome from 54K UK Biobank participants with the multi-tissue STARNET study, for patients with and without coronary artery disease and cardiometabolic disease.

Lay summary

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) that stem from both endogenous and environmental risk factors remain the leading cause of death worldwide. Recent research discoveries suggest that some of these risk factors may be reflected in patterns of blood proteins, as read-outs of disease events taking place within organs. The UK Biobank resource has uniquely measured thousands of blood proteins in more than 54,000 individuals who also have been screened for DNA and disease status. We aim to use these data in conjunction with data from the STARNET study of approximately 1000 patients with and without CVDs. In STARNET, we have generated gene and protein expression data from several of the major tissues in the body, including the vascular wall, liver, skeletal muscle, and fat. By integrating data from STARNET and the UK Biobank using advanced data analysis, we aim to elucidate how plasma proteins are affected by the states of the major organs both in states of health and CVD. We believe our study has strong potential to expand beyond what is currently known about how patterns of blood proteins are affected by changes in the states of major organs and specifically, how blood proteins are affected in people with CVDs.