Given the complexity of these disorders, advances in diagnostic tools are essential for the future of identification and early intervention. Currently, imaging techniques are the gold standard for diagnosing heart disorders. For example, an echocardiograph test is used to identify heart valve problems, a chest x-ray is used to identify abnormal heart tissue, and an electrocardiogram test is used to identify an irregular heartbeat. An additional test used to diagnose heart disorders is cardiac catheterization. A thin, flexible tube (called a catheter) is inserted into a blood vessel and travels to your heart to take images that reveal possible valve abnormalities.
Furthermore, a cardiac MRI can show if specific cardiac tissues are enlarged or atrophied to help diagnose a heart condition. To substantiate a diagnosis, blood-based biomarkers can indicate the presence of cardiac pathology. For example, elevated N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentrations indicate high pressure inside the atria, providing evidence of a heart disorder. Similarly, genetic tests can reveal a predisposition or underlying reason for the presence of a heart condition such as cardiomyopathies. While image-based and molecular tests are used to identify cardiac disorders, it is imperative to continue investigating other possible biomarkers to diagnose and intervene sooner and improve patient outcomes.
Emerging Tools to Identify and Study Complex Disorders of the Heart.
Fortunately, we can study the heart and increase our understanding of these complex heart disorders to develop better diagnostic tools and treatments. Growing research supports evidence that blood-based cytokines and inflammatory markers correlate with heart pathologies. For example,
c-reactive protein (CRP) plays an essential role in various pathological pathways such as myocardial infarction, pulmonary disorders, and atherosclerosis. It is possible that this can be further developed into a biomarker for the early detection of these pathologies. Moreover,
Liaquat et al. (2014) has shown that increased CRP levels correlate with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, a heart disorder characterized by an enlarged or weakened left ventricle.
Another promising blood-based marker that can indicate a cardiac disorder is
brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). The heart's ventricles secrete BNP in response to excessive stretching of cardiomyocytes. The physiologic consequences of BNP secretion include a decrease in systemic vascular resistance and central venous pressure and an increase in natriuresis. As previously mentioned, BNP levels can indicate the severity of heart failure and inform treatment decisions to improve patient outcomes. Additionally, cytokines and
inflammatory markers such as TNF-α, TGF-β, IL-1/-4/-6/-8/-18 are key players in the pathogenesis of inflammatory cardiac pathologies and can be monitored and measured via blood samples. For example, increased levels of the aforementioned markers are consistent with in ischemic heart disease. In fact,
Buscemi et al. (2012) used Enzo's IL-6 (human) ELISA kit and TNF-α (human) ELISA kit to show that these two markers specifically were concurrent with increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
Second messenger molecules can also be harnessed to understand the pathogenesis of heart conditions as well as evaluate the efficacy of current treatment methods. For example, cyclic-AMP (cAMP) intracellular concentrations play an important second messenger role in regulating cardiac muscle contraction. In fact, increased cAMP increases contractility, heart rate, and conduction velocity. Specifically, when there is excess cAMP, it is broken down by cAMP-dependent phosphodiesterase (PDE) in order to maintain the appropriate levels of cAMP for normal heart function, thus, this relationship is important for heart health.
Patel et al. (2018) used Enzo's cAMP complete ELISA kit to reveal that Prostacyclin analogues can be successfully used to increase cAMP when deficient, and that the mechanism of the common hypertension drug, treprostinil, has two different mechanisms of action in healthy (cAMP-dependent) vs. diseased (non-cAMP-dependent) cells. These data provide insight into this relationship and how current drugs affect the physiology of the heart.
Developing assays to test for blood based markers such as CRP, BNP, cytokines, and interleukins is critical to advance our understanding of heart disorders and create mechanisms for early intervention to improve patient outcomes.
Enzo Can Help You Understand Complex Cardiac Disorders!
Enzo Life Sciences offers a comprehensive
selection of products to enable the discovery of cardiac risk factors as well as analysis of the cellular response to novel therapeutics for cardiovascular medicine. For instance, the extensive repertoire of
cytokine ELISAs have been cited in dozens of peer-reviewed publications, including cardiology research. Furthermore, they are offered to detect both human and mouse analytes, providing flexibility in your workflow
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Figure 3. Enzo offers a variety of cytokine and interleukin ELISAs to detect both human and mouse analytes.
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Enzo also offers many
products to assess biomarkers for prevention, diagnosis, and monitoring of cardiac disorders such as the
COX activity kit to assess inhibitors of inflammation without the use of radioactivity. Enzo's immunohistochemistry-validated antibodies such as the
atrial natriuretic peptide monoclonal antibody will help you identify targets of cardiac distress with high signal and low background. For consistent and high quality results, partner with Enzo to further your cardiology research. Reach out to one of our
application scientists today to get started!