Publications

Abstract Given the high global prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the need for relevant noninvasive biomarkers and algorithms to accurately stage disease severity is a critical unmet medical need. Identifying those with advanced fibrosis (≥ F3) is the most crucial, as these individuals have the greatest risk of adverse, long-term, liver-related outcomes. We […]

Abstract BACKGROUND Abaloparatide is a 34-amino acid peptide that selectively binds to the RG conformation of the parathyroid hormone receptor type 1. It was developed for the treatment of women with postmenopausal osteoporosis at high risk of fracture. In ACTIVE, an 18-month phase 3 study (NCT01343004), abaloparatide increased bone mineral density (BMD), decreased the risk […]

Abstract BACKGROUND Pain is a debilitating symptom of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), caused by joint inflammation and cartilage and bone destruction. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are used to treat pain and inflammation in RA, but are not disease-modifying and do not prevent joint destruction when administered alone. KBPs (Key Bioscience peptides) are synthetic peptides based on […]

Abstract BACKGROUND Extracellular matrix metabolism and cardiac cell death participate centrally in myocardial infarction (MI). This study tested the roles of collagenolytic cathepsin K (CatK) in post-MI left ventricular remodeling. METHODS AND RESULTS Patients with acute MI had higher plasma CatK levels (20.49 ± 7.07 pmol/L, n = 26) than those in subjects with stable angina pectoris (8.34 ± 1.66 pmol/L, n = 28, P = .01) […]

Abstract PURPOSE Elastin is a signature protein of lungs. Increased elastin turnover driven by altered proteolytic activity is an important part of lung tumorigenesis. Elastin-derived fragments have been shown to be pro-tumorigenic, however, little is known regarding the biomarker potential of such elastin fragments. Here, we present an elastin turnover profile by non-invasively quantifying five […]

Abstract Vastatin, a fragment derived from type VIII collagen, is one of the least studied collagen-derived matrikines. Vastatin can be detected in serum but little is known regarding the relevance of serum vastatin in colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, serum vastatin was measured (ELISA) in 67 healthy controls and 48 CRC patients prior to […]

Abstract BACKGROUND AND AIMS Although combined antiretroviral treatment (cART) has improved overall survival of HIV infected patients, liver fibrosis and liver related-mortality still constitute major challenges in HIV positive patients. Collagen accumulates in the liver during fibrogenesis. Recent studies showed that circulating levels of extracellular matrix (ECM) fragments might reflect degree of portal hypertension and […]

Abstract There is an increasing demand for accurate endotyping of patients according to their pathogenesis to allow more targeted treatment. We explore a combination of blood-based joint tissue metabolites (neoepitopes) to enable patient clustering through distinct disease profiles. We analysed data from two RA studies (LITHE (N = 574, follow-up 24 and 52 weeks), OSKIRA-1 […]

Abstract Blood levels of Glial Fibrillary Acidic protein (GFAP) reflect processes associated with different types of CNS injury. Evidence suggests that GFAP is cleaved by caspases during CNS injury, hence positioning GFAP fragments as potential biomarkers of injury-associated processes. We set out to develop an assay detecting the neo-epitope generated by caspase-6 cleavage of GFAP […]

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) derived extracellular matrix (ECM) biomarkers in non-radiographic (nr)-axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and radiographic (r)-axSpA after exercise intervention. Forty-six axSpA patients with stable disease and treatment underwent 24 weeks long exercise intervention. The clinical and laboratory assessments were performed at baseline […]