Novel troponin test may help improve treatment of heart attack patients

Novel troponin test may help improve treatment of heart attack patients

A new test has been developed in Turku, Finland, to help distinguish heart attack patients from those whose cardiac troponin levels are elevated due to kidney failure. Blood sample testing for cardiac troponins is an important cornerstone in heart attack diagnosis, but the result may also be increased by other temporary or chronic conditions such as renal insufficiency, atrial fibrillation, or strenuous exercise. The new test can help detect myocardial infarction (MI) more quickly and specifically, improving the treatment of MI patients.

Cardiac troponins are proteins that are normally only found in cells of the heart muscle. According to previous studies, troponins are released into the circulation as large molecules in MI, while troponins are found as small fragments in the blood in other diseases.

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A significant problem with current diagnostics is that the commercial troponin tests currently used in hospitals detect the combined amount of both large and small troponin molecules.

In a collaborative study between the Heart Center of Turku University Hospital and the Biotechnology Department of the Life Technologies Department of the University of Turku, a new simple immunoassay test was developed that exclusively detects the large troponin molecules. A troponin ratio was calculated by dividing the amount of large troponin molecules detected by the new test by the amount of all troponin molecules detected by the test currently used in hospitals. This troponin ratio was remarkably higher in MI patients than in patients with renal insufficiency, although the results of the current commercial troponin test were similar in these groups.

More than half of the mild troponin elevations seen in emergency room patients are due to causes other than a heart attack. The test developed appears to be very good at separating the small troponin elevations caused by impending MI from benign transient troponin elevations.”

Emeritus Professor Juhani Airaksinen, Heart Center, Turku University Hospital

“A distinctive feature of the test we developed is that it could be implemented in automated analysis systems in the hospital laboratories, similar to the commercial troponin tests currently used in the hospital laboratories,” says Junior Professor Saara Wittfooth from the Institute of Life Technologies, University of Turku.

Source:

University of Turku

Reference:

Juhani Airaksinen, KE, et al. (2022) Novel troponin fragmentation assay to differentiate troponin elevations in acute myocardial infarction and end-stage renal disease. Traffic. doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.060845.

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