RNA and microRNA Analysis of ACS Patients

Discovery science in ACS and CAD is driven by the hypothesis that circulating peripheral leukocytes are key effector cells in atherogenesis and coronary plaque instability.

We are examining expression of leukocyte mRNA and microRNA over time in patients presenting with ACS. Extraction of mRNA and microRNA for analysis of expression in the first 50 patients nears completion. To analyse gene expression data we use a probabilistic approach. This improves robustness and specificity of the predicted targets in the setting of a relatively small number of samples.

Probabilistic models also allow us to optimise the power of time-series data and quantify the noise and uncertainty in the raw data to reducing false positive predictions.

Our aims are to identify markers of recurrent events and to re-classify disease by their transcriptional signatures. The model will be tested prospectively on a validation cohort. All samples for the derivation and validation cohorts were taken from patients recruited to the phase 1 of the CVBRU ACS study in the CVBRU Biorepository.

The data will soon be submitted for publication and has already provoked considerable interest within the industry. The team are looking at pursuing collaboration with Astra Zeneca on this project.