Biomarkers of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biomarkers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 1626

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Guest Editor
José Ferro Lab—Clinical Research in Non-Communicable Neurological Diseases, Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: stroke, biomarkers; precision medicine; cardioembolism
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Following a very successful first issue, we are pleased to announce the launch of a second edition of Biomarkers of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases.

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are still among the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, diet, obesity, and physical inactivity contribute to increasing the incidence of cardiovascular events by promoting a proinflammatory condition that affects the proliferation, migration, and increased permeability of endothelial cells. In turn, the endothelial inflammatory phenotype triggers the synthesis and release of cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors that further exacerbate endothelial health and impair vascular performance. However, searching for biological markers able to evaluate cardiovascular diseases is still a great challenge.

Among the most validated biomarkers currently in use, inflammation-related markers are prominent. Some classical and novel biomarkers have emerged as relevant contributors in the energy-homeostasis field and have appeared as valid biomarkers of various cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Among these presumed and specific biomarkers, several members of the TGF-beta super-family, GDF15, GDF11, newly emerging cardiokines, miRNAs, and markers discovered via proteomics in relation to oxidative stress are involved in cardiovascular disease. The evaluation of their circulating levels might provide new insights into the course of the disease. Finally, classical and novel biomarkers can also serve as new diagnostic markers for the detection of cardiovascular disorders to guide prognostication and emerging therapeutics. We invite you to share your knowledge and experience. Original and review papers that address cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk factors in all aspects, from cellular and molecular mechanisms and pathophysiological links to problems of diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring, are welcome.

Dr. Ana Catarina Fonseca
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • biomarkers
  • cardiovascular disease
  • cerebrovascular disease
  • cardiovascular therapy
  • diagnosis

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 3732 KiB  
Article
Acute Neurovascular Inflammatory Profile in Patients with Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
by Ruby R. Taylor, Robert W. Keane, Begoña Guardiola, Raul Martí, Daniel Alegre, W. Dalton Dietrich, Jon Perez-Barcena and Juan Pablo de Rivero Vaccari
Biomolecules 2025, 15(5), 613; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15050613 - 23 Apr 2025
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Abstract
Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a life-threatening condition that results from intracranial aneurysm rupture, leading to the accumulation of blood between the arachnoid and pia mater. The blood breakdown products and damage-associated molecule patterns (DAMPs), which are released as a result of vascular [...] Read more.
Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a life-threatening condition that results from intracranial aneurysm rupture, leading to the accumulation of blood between the arachnoid and pia mater. The blood breakdown products and damage-associated molecule patterns (DAMPs), which are released as a result of vascular and cellular compromise following aneurysm rupture, elicit local endothelial reactions leading to the narrowing of cerebral arteries and ischemia. In addition, vascular inflammation, characterized by activated endothelial cells, perpetuates disruption of the neurovascular unit and the blood–brain barrier. The uncertain prognosis of aSAH patients contributes to the necessity of a fluid biomarker that can serve as a valuable adjunct to radiological and clinical evaluation. Limited studies have investigated vascular inflammation and angiogenic protein expression following aSAH. Reliable markers of the vascular inflammatory and angiogenic response associated with aSAH may allow for the earlier detection of patients at risk for complications and aid in the identification of novel pharmacologic targets. We investigated whether vascular inflammatory and angiogenesis signaling proteins may serve as potential biomarkers of aSAH. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from fifteen aSAH subjects and healthy age-matched controls as well as hydrocephalus (CSF) no-aneurysm controls were evaluated for levels of vascular inflammatory and angiogenesis proteins. Protein measurement was carried out using electrochemiluminescence. The area under the curve (AUC) was calculated using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) to obtain information on biomarker reliability, specificity, sensitivity, cut-off points, and likelihood ratio. In addition, patients were grouped by Glasgow Outcome Score—Extended at 3 months post-injury to determine the correlation between vascular inflammatory protein levels and clinical outcome measures. aSAH subjects demonstrated elevated vascular inflammatory protein levels in serum and CSF when compared to controls. Certain vascular injury and angiogenic proteins were found to be promising biomarkers of inflammatory response in aSAH in the CSF and serum. In particular, elevated levels of serum amyloid-alpha (SAA) were found to be correlated with unfavorable outcomes following aSAH. Determination of these protein levels in CSF and serum in aSAH may be utilized as reliable biomarkers of inflammation in aSAH and used clinically to monitor patient outcomes. Full article
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14 pages, 1238 KiB  
Article
Association Between hsTnT and NT-proBNP and Peripheral Artery Disease in People with HIV: A Multicentre Danish Cohort Study
by Thomas R. Holtveg, Anne Marie Reimer Jensen, Ask Bock, Moises Alberto Suarez-Zdunek, Andreas D. Knudsen, Børge G. Nordestgaard, Shoaib Afzal, Thomas Benfield, Sisse R. Ostrowski, Tor Biering-Sørensen, Ruth Frikke-Schmidt and Susanne D. Nielsen
Biomolecules 2025, 15(3), 401; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15030401 - 11 Mar 2025
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Abstract
People with HIV (PWH) have a high risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD), and high-sensitivity troponin (hsTnT) and NT-pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) may be useful biomarkers for PAD in PWH. We assessed associations between hsTnT and NT-proBNP and both prevalent PAD and [...] Read more.
People with HIV (PWH) have a high risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD), and high-sensitivity troponin (hsTnT) and NT-pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) may be useful biomarkers for PAD in PWH. We assessed associations between hsTnT and NT-proBNP and both prevalent PAD and de novo PAD. Adult PWH were examined at baseline and after 2 years. Inclusion criteria were (1) measurements of hsTnT and NT-proBNP at baseline and (2) ankle brachial index (ABI) at baseline for prevalent PAD and both visits for de novo PAD. PAD was defined as ABI ≤ 0.9. We included 1011 PWH, and 88 (8.7%) had PAD at baseline. Among 802 PWH, 29 (3.6%) had de novo PAD at follow-up. A doubling in hsTnT concentration was associated with prevalent PAD with an OR 1.41 (95% CI: 1.02–1.96, p = 0.04) and 1.40 (95% CI: 0.99–1.98, p = 0.055) in a base model and an adjusted model, respectively. High hsTnT was associated with a risk ratio of 3.39 (95% CI: 1.24–9.27, p = 0.02) for de novo PAD in an unadjusted model and 3.44 (95% CI: 0.98–12.10, p = 0.05) after adjustments. NT-proBNP was not associated with PAD. Thus, hsTnT was associated with higher odds of prevalent PAD and increased risk of de novo PAD. Full article
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12 pages, 1759 KiB  
Communication
Indoleacetylglutamine Pathway Is a Potential Biomarker for Cardiovascular Diseases
by Khaled Naja, Najeha Anwardeen, Mashael Al-Shafai and Mohamed A. Elrayess
Biomolecules 2025, 15(3), 377; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15030377 - 5 Mar 2025
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Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality. Metabolomics allows for the identification of important biomarkers for CVDs, essential for early detection and risk assessment. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify novel metabolic biomarkers associated with CVDs using non-targeted [...] Read more.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality. Metabolomics allows for the identification of important biomarkers for CVDs, essential for early detection and risk assessment. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify novel metabolic biomarkers associated with CVDs using non-targeted metabolomics. We compared the metabolic profiles of 112 patients with confirmed CVDs diagnosis and 112 gender- and age-matched healthy controls from the Qatar Biobank database. Orthogonal partial least square discriminate analysis and linear models were used to analyze differences in the level of metabolites between the two groups. We report here a significant association between the indoleacetylglutamine pathway and cardiovascular diseases, expanding the repertoire of gut microbiota metabolites linked to CVDs. Our findings suggest that alterations in gut microbiota metabolism, potentially resulting in increased production of indoleacetate, indoleacetylglutamine, and related compounds at the expense of the cardioprotective indolepropionate, may contribute to this association. Our findings may pave the way for novel approaches in CVD risk assessment and potential therapeutic interventions targeting the gut-heart axis. Full article
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