AsianScientist (Oct. 28, 2015) – A single blood test could reveal whether an otherwise healthy person is likely to die of pneumonia or sepsis within the next 14 years, according to a study published in Cell Systems.
Based on an analysis of 10,000 individuals, Australian and Finnish researchers have identified a molecular byproduct of inflammation, called glycoprotein acetylation (GlycA), which seems to predict premature death due to infection.
The findings suggest that high GlycA levels in the blood indicate a state of chronic inflammation that may arise from low-level chronic infection or an overactive immune response.
That inflammation damages the body, which likely renders individuals more susceptible to severe infections.
“GlycA is a long way from being clinically useful,” cautioned first author Mr. Scott Ritchie from the University of Melbourne. “Measurement of GlycA can only predict risk, which isn’t particularly useful to either health care practitioners or concerned individuals if there’s no way to reduce the risk.”
“Although our study gives us a better understanding of the biology underlying the mortality risk, more work is needed to determine the causal factors in at-risk individuals,” Ritchie explained.
Additional studies are needed to uncover the mechanisms involved in GlycA’s link to inflammation and premature death, and whether testing for GlycA levels in the clinic might someday be warranted.
Co-senior author Dr. Michael Inouye, from the Center for Systems Genomics at the University of Melbourne, said there are few more important things than identifying those who might be at increased risk of disease and death.
“We want to short-circuit that risk, and to do that we need to understand what this blood biomarker of disease risk is actually telling us,” said Inouye.
For example, to plan a course of treatment, researchers need to know whether high GlycA is the result of a chronic, low-level microbial infection or an aberrant reaction of the body’s own inflammatory response.
The findings will likely form the foundation for numerous other studies that will investigate the role of GlycA in the body.
“The more high-quality genomics data we have, linked health records and long-term follow-up, the better our models and predictions will be,” Inouye said.
“This study is an example of the progress that can be made when altruistic research volunteers, clinicians, technologists, and data scientists work together, but we have the potential to do much more, and large-scale strategic inter-disciplinary initiatives are vitally needed.”
The article can be found at: Ritchie et al. (2015) The Biomarker GlycA Is Associated with Chronic Inflammation and Predicts Long-Term Risk of Severe Infection.
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Source: University of Melbourne.
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