Publications

Background and aims Endoscopy and the use of fecal calprotectin (fecal CP) are among the least favored methods for assessing disease activity by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients; the handling/processing of fecal samples is also impractical. Therefore, we sought to develop a novel neo-epi...

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• IBD
• Gastrointestinal
• Crohn's disease
• Ulcerative colitis
• Neutrophil activity

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease with multiple endotypes. A hallmark of OA is loss of cartilage; however, it is evident that the rate of cartilage loss differs among patients, which may partly be attributed to differential capacity for cartilage repair. We hypothesize that a low cartilag...

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• Osteoarthritis
• Osteoarthritis Cartilage
• Biomarkers

Increased turnover of extracellular matrix proteins is seen in many different diseases and is an underlying and driving feature of pathogenesis. An increased ratio of formation over degradation of extracellular matrix proteins, such as collagens, leads to accumulation of proteins in the tissues, ult...

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• Biomarker Insights
• Biomarkers
• Cancer
• Heart Failure

Abstract Background: Alcohol is a main cause of preventable deaths and frequently leads to the development of alcohol-related liver disease. Due to the lack of diagnostics, patients are commonly diagnosed after developing clinical manifestations. Recently, the biomarker PRO-C3 was shown to accura...

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• Alcoholic Liver Disease

Objective: To compare C-reactive protein (CRP) and matrix metalloproteinase-generated neoepitope of CRP (CRPM) as biomarkers of inflammation and radiographic severity in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: Participants with symptomatic osteoarthritis (n=25) of at least one knee underwent kn...

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• Extracellular Matrix Research
• Osteoarthritis

Background & aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common liver disorder with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) being a more progressive phenotype associated with progression to cirrhosis. Type III collagen is a main component of the fibrotic extracellular matrix. PRO-C3 is a b...

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• Extracellular matrix (ECM);
• Extracellular Matrix Research
• Biomarker Insights
• Liver Fibrosis
• Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis
• Biomarkers

Objectives: There is a need for precision medicine and an unspoken promise of an optimal approach for identification of the right patients for value-based medicine based on big data. However, there may be a misconception that measurement of proteins is more valuable than measurement of fewer selecte...

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• Biomarker Insights
• Extracellular Matrix Research

Introduction: Enzymatic cross-linking of the collagens within the extracellular matrix (ECM) catalyzed by enzymes such as lysyl oxidase (LOX) and lysyl oxidase like-enzymes 1-4 (LOXL), transglutaminase 2 (TG2), and peroxidasin (PXDN) contribute to fibrosis progression through extensive collagen cros...

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• Fibrosis
• Extracellular matrix (ECM);

Objective: To investigate acute changes in biochemical markers of cartilage turnover in response to moderate intensity exercise with and without joint impact in humans with knee osteoarthritis. Design: We conducted a randomized, cross-over, exploratory clinical study. Twenty subjects with knee osteo...

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• Biomarker Insights
• Osteoarthritis
• Biomarkers

To investigate the association between markers of synovial inflammation and matrix turnover (MRI-based and serum biomarkers) and knee symptoms in established knee osteoarthritis (KOA). This cross-sectional study utilised data from a randomised, multicentre placebo-controlled trial (UK-VIDEO) of vita...

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• Biomarkers
• Osteoarthritis

Background & aims: Progressive fibrosis has been identified as the major predictor of mortality in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Several biomarkers are currently being evaluated for their ability to substitute the liver biopsy as the reference standard. Recent clinical...

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• Liver Fibrosis
• Biomark Insights

Type XI collagen has been associated with tumor fibrosis and aggressiveness in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The propeptide on Type XI collagen is released into the circulation after proteolytic processing at either amino acid 253 or 511. This allows for a noninvasive biomar...

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• Biomarker Insights
• Pancreas
• Biomarkers

Abstract Objective: Dual amylin and calcitonin receptor agonists (DACRAs) are novel therapeutic agents that not only improve insulin sensitivity but also work as an adjunct to established T2DM therapies. DACRAs are currently administered once daily, though it is unknown whether DACRAs with increa...

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• Endocrinology
• Diabetes

Abstract Collagens are a primary component of the extracellular matrix and are functional ligands for the inhibitory immune receptor leukocyte-associated immunoglobulin-like receptor (LAIR)-1. LAIR-2 is a secreted protein that can act as a decoy receptor by binding collagen with higher affinity t...

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• Cancer

Objective: Liver biopsy is still needed for fibrosis staging in many patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The aims of this study were to evaluate the individual diagnostic performance of liver stiffness measurement by vibration controlled transient elastography (LSM-VCTE), Fibrosis-4 Ind...

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• Liver Fibrosis
• Biomarker Insights
• Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Background and aims: Vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE), point shear wave elastography (pSWE), 2-dimensional shear wave elastography (2DSWE), magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been proposed as non-invasive tests for patients with non-alc...

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• Biomarkers
• Liver Fibrosis
• Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
• Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by involvement of skin, axial and peripheral skeleton. An altered balance between extracellular matrix (ECM) formation and breakdown is a key event in PsA, and changes in ECM protein metabolites may provide insight to tissue c...

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• Biomarkers
• Psoriatic arthritis

The heterogeneous nature of osteoarthritis (OA) and the need to subtype patients is widely accepted in the field. The biomarker CRPM, a metabolite of C-reactive protein (CRP), is released to the circulation during inflammation. Blood CRPM levels have shown to be associated with disease activity and ...

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• Osteoarthritis
• Biomarker Insights

Background: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the progressive form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); no approved therapies for NASH currently exist. Pegbelfermin (PGBF), a human fibroblast growth factor 21 analog, has metabolic effects that may provide benefit for patients with NASH....

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• Chronic Liver Disease
• Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis
• Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
• Liver Fibrosis

  Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is an umbrella term describing a family of chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases. These diseases are characterised by inflammation of the axial skeleton, peripheral joints, and entheseal insertion sites throughout the body which can lead to structural joint damage includ...

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• Spondyloarthopathies
• Cartilage

A desmoplastic colorectal cancer stroma, characterized by excess turnover of the cancer-associated fibroblast derived collagens type III and VI, can lead to reduced drug-uptake and poor treatment response. We investigated the association between biomarkers of collagen type III and VI and overall sur...

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Objective: Associations between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and effect of treatment at the tissue levels are poorly understood. We investigated the scope of released extracellular matrix (ECM) metabolites as a consequence of tissue remodelling in patients treated with methotrexate (MTX) and tocilizuma...

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Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis, all have one clear common denominator; an altered turnover of bone. However, this may be more complex than a simple change in bone matrix and mineral turnover. While these diseases share a common tissue axis, thei...

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• Ankylosing Spondylitis
• Osteoarthritis

Aim: Type VI collagen, is emerging as a signaling collagen originating from different types of fibroblasts. A specific fragment of Type VI collagen, the pro-peptide, is also known as the hormone endotrophin. We hypothesized that this fibroblast hormone would be of particular relevance in cancer ty...

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• Cancer
• Chronic Liver Disease

Introduction: Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease is common, with fibrosis the major determinant of adverse outcomes. Population-based screening tools with high diagnostic accuracy for the staging of fibrosis are lacking. Methods: Three independent cohorts, 2 with both liver biopsy and liver s...

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• Liver Fibrosis

Connective tissue (ConT) remodeling is an essential process in tissue regeneration, where a balanced replacement of old tissue by new tissue occurs. This balance is disturbed in chronic diseases, often autoimmune diseases, usually resulting in the buld up of fibrosis and a gradual loss of organ func...

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The effect of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy on extracellular matrix (ECM) turnover, a prominent feature of chronic hepatitis C (CHC), is unknown. ECM protein degradation and formation generate fragments reflecting the tissue turnover balance when quantified in the blood. PRO-C3 and PRO-C4 re...

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Different stimulants might induce different extracellular matrix profiles. It is essential to gain an understanding and quantification of these changes to allow for focused anti-fibrotic drug development. This study investigated the expression of extracellular matrix by dermal fibroblast mimicking f...

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Background: Tissue released blood-based biomarkers can provide insight into drug mode of action and response. To understand the changes in extracellular matrix turnover, we analyzed biomarkers associated with joint tissue turnover from a phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled study of baricitinib i...

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• Rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract Introduction: Hepatic fibrosis is the excessive synthesis and deposition of extracellular matrix including collagen in the tissue. Chronic liver insult leads to progressive parenchymal damage, portal hypertension, and cirrhosis. Determination of hepatic collagen by invasive liver biopsy ...

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