Blood Biomarkers From Ethnically Diverse Cardiovascular Patients

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. The development of cardiovascular disease includes both genetic and epigenetic factors. Understanding their molecular and cellular mechanism is necessary to identify novel drug targets and treat the disease. Present in vitro and in vivo models of the disease do not mimic human pathophysiology, and obtaining the primary cells from the patients for the studies relevant to the cardiovascular and pulmonary system is difficult. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are derived from a person's blood cells and facilitate the discovery of cardiovascular disease mechanisms. The Investigators propose recruiting cardiovascular patients from diverse ethnic backgrounds and creating a rich clinical database using REDCap. Blood samples will be obtained from participants and used to create iPSCs. The participant will have DNA sequencing, and serum will be analyzed for protein biomarkers. The multi-omics data and reprogrammed iPSCs will be stored in the Cardiology and Critical Care (C3RP) laboratory at the Robarts Research Institute at Western University. The reprogrammed iPSCs can generate a limitless supply of cardiovascular tissue. Moreover, the iPSC-derived data will be correlated with clinical information, genetic sequencing, and protein biomarkers from serum analysis. The Investigators expect to create an iPSC biobank coupled with a rich clinical dataset, including genetic sequencing analysis and protein biomarkers that will enable the discovery of novel biomarkers and drug targets for cardiovascular disease.