Metabolomics in Heart Failure as a Novel Diagnostic Tool

Due to improved acute care, especially in ischemic heart diseases, chronic heart failure has become the most prevalent cardiovascular disorder in industrialized western countries. On the molecular level, the heart adapts to an increased work load by extensive changes in protein composition, ultimately resulting in deterioration of functional characteristics of the diseased heart muscle (myocardium). Although initiated as myocardial dysfunction, heart failure soon becomes a systemic disorder with neurohormonal activation and reduced blood flow to end organs. This project is cooperatively performed with the company metanomics in Berlin, which is specialized in metabolomic analysis and bioinformatics.

The aims of the project are to characterize the “metabolome” of the failing heart as reflected by metabolites in blood samples of clinically excellent characterized patient cohorts.

Metabolic signatures are identified, that

(i) are diagnostic of myocardial failure
(ii) relate to disease severity and
(iii) even provide clues to disease mechanisms and affected molecular pathways.

Therefore, two complementary scientific strategies are devised. First, in carefully phenotyped patients with heart failure, metabolic profiles are obtained, compared to healthy controls and subsequently related to clinical findings. Secondly, defined animal models with heart failure are investigated, allowing a comparison of gene expression and metabolomic changes.

This combined approach allows the development of new biomarkers for diagnostics and risk stratification of Heart Failure and the detection of new molecular pathomechanisms and new therapeutic approaches.