Latest: Revealing Nervonic acid molecules as core molecular markers of cardiogenic or atherosclerotic thrombosis

• Date：2022-06-16

• By：Zhong Yuan Biotech

Recently, the research group of Liqun Jiao, director of Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, and the research team of Xianyang Chen, CTO of Zhongyuan Biotech, published a paper in the Journal of Neurointerventional Surgery, a leading international journal in the field of neurosurgery, titled "Thrombosis origin identification of cardioembolism and large artery atherosclerosis by distinct metabolites," revealing that the nervonic acid molecule "Galabiosylceramide (18:1/24:1)" is a core molecular marker for differentiating cardiogenic thrombosis from atherosclerotic thrombosis. The project was co-authored by Xianyang Chen and Teng Xue of Zhongyuan.

Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery is the leading international journal in the field of neurointerventional surgery, focusing on important advances in neurointerventional treatment of ischemic stroke, aneurysm, neuro-oncology, spine and other diseases. It is the official journal of the American Society of Neurointerventional Surgery(SNIS), published by BMJ Publishing Group. The journal has recently increased its impact factor year after year and has become a top professional journal in its field.

Xuanwu Hospital is a tertiary care hospital with neuroscience as its key discipline. The neurosurgery department of the hospital is a national key discipline of neurosurgery, one of the earliest and largest neurology treatment, teaching and research centers in China, and the first international neurosurgery training base certified by the World Federation of Neurosurgery (WFNS) in China.

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) has been a long-standing focus of neurological attention worldwide. AIS is an etiologically heterogeneous disease, and determining the etiology of cardiogenic embolism (CE) or large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) is of great importance for secondary stroke prevention. Cardiac embolic strokes, usually caused by atrial fibrillation, can be treated with anticoagulants, whereas large artery atherosclerosis strokes are mainly treated with antiplatelet agents (e.g. aspirin). The medication is completely different for strokes of different causes. There is no rapid and effective means to identify the two causes of thrombosis. Therefore, Liqun Jiao's research group at Xuanwu Hospital, together with Xianyang Chen's team at Bao Feng, identified the different metabolites that distinguish between cardiac embolism (CE) and thrombosis-forming large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) by metabolomics combined with machine learning, in which the nervonic acid molecule Galabiosylceramide (18:1/24:1) was found as a core molecular marker.

The discovery of molecules (combinations) with nervonic acid as the core marker has laid the foundation for the future development of kits for blood detection of cardiogenic or atherosclerotic thrombotic causes. Especially for the glucoceramides, Bao Feng has discovered from several research directions that they are involved in the formation of cerebral blood vessels, remodeling and influence the development of many neurological diseases, and has also carried out related patent protection.

Bao Feng, as a subsidary of Zhongyuan Biotech has created an R&D platform that effectively combines biotechnology and artificial intelligence algorithms to form the standard of Industry 4.0 plus. Meanwhile, Bao Feng metabolomics combined with machine learning big data cloud platform is a national certified innovative research system for neurological screening and intervention technology. At present, based on this platform, Bao Feng has industrialized the application of nervonic acid and obtained 17 national invention patents and several SCI academic papers, including the screening application of nervonic acid for cerebral leukodystrophy, the screening application for stroke, and the supplement products of nervonic acid to improve cognitive ability and hypoxia-ischemia. This technology platform will play a more important role in the development of innovative three-class kits with nervonic acid structural compounds as the core, as well as innovative new drugs.

This time, a team of scientists from Xuanwu Hospital and Bao Feng published "Thrombosis origin identification of cardioembolism and large artery atherosclerosis by distinct metabolites" in an international authoritative journal in the field of neurosurgery. This is not only an academic contribution to the field of life science, but also a pathway to overcome the world-wide problem of brain and nervous system diseases.

In the future, Bao Feng will not forget the original intention and keep moving, continue to play the spirit of scientific research and innovation, increase the strength of scientific research and innovation to help build a healthy China!