Forster Stip

Georg Forster-Forschungsstipendium für erfahrene Wissenschaftler

01.12.2019 bis 31.08.2020

Literature reports more than 60 studies relating incidence and progression of cardiovascular disease to oxidation stress. Unfortunately, methods used for determination of biomarkers related to oxidative stress are indirect, in many instances non-specific, in addition to presence of little evidence that oxidative stress in vivo is properly simulated. Variations in assay methodologies make the arena fertile to more bioanalytical studies away from the reported immunogenic response and ELISA assays. Other than oxidized Low Density Lipoproteins, protein oxidation, tentative biomarkers include lipid peroxidation aldehyde end products that have the advantage to be long lived compared to other metabolites of the lipidome. This work aims to use high-throughput analytical technologies, namely Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometric detection and proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in a targeted and untargeted lipidomic approach to provide insights into the underlying perturbed metabolic pathways of lipids in German and Egyptian cardiovascular patients. A lipidomic signature-rather than focusing on one or two well-known aldehyde end product- of lipid peroxidation metabolites is targeted for patients with myocardial injury in both populations . The workflow of the targeted approach includes optimization of sample extraction and derivatization methodology for all aldehyde compounds followed by establishment and validation of gas chromatography- mass spectrometric. The untargeted approach would complement the results of the targeted strategy to reveal alternative biomarkers in the two studied population groups. Reporting a lipidomic signature-whether predictive or diagnostic- for cardiovascular German and Egyptian patients would support proper medical intervention at the initiation or progression phases of the disease.