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 & AIMS Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is an inflammatory, cholestatic and progressively fibrotic liver disease devoid of effective medical intervention. NGM282, an engineered, non-tumorigenic FGF19 analogue, potently regulates CYP7A1-mediated bile acid homeostasis. We assessed the activity and safety of NGM282 in patients with PSC. METHODS In this double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II trial, 62 […]

Abstract Osteogenesis imperfecta [1] is a rare disorder of connective tissue caused by abnormalities in the synthesis or processing of type I collagen. Type I collagen is the most abundant type of collagen and is expressed in almost all connective tissues. Given that type I collagen interacts with other collagens based in the extracellular matrix […]

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 There is a need for noninvasive biomarkers that can identify patients with progressive liver fibrosis and monitor response to antifibrotic therapy. An equally important need is identification of patients with spontaneous fibrosis regression, since they may not need treatment nor be included in clinical studies with fibrosis as end point. Circulating biomarkers, originating from […]

Abstract BACKGROUND Excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and a reactive stroma can affect T-cell infiltration and T-cell activity in the tumor and hereby influence response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). In the pursuit of finding biomarkers that predict treatment response, we evaluated the association between serum biomarkers of collagen and vimentin turnover and outcomes in […]