Research by Claudia Langenberg and Nick Wareham (MRC Epidemiology Unit), as part of the Aetiology and Mechanisms of Diabetes and Related Metabolic Disorders of Later Life programme, reported that proteins in our blood could help provide a comprehensive ‘liquid health check’, assessing our health and predicting the likelihood that we will we will develop a range of diseases.
 
Published in Nature Medicine, the team of researchers from the UK and USA, working with biotech company SomaLogic, scanned 5,000 proteins in plasma samples taken from 17,000 participants in the proof-of-concept study, using fragments of DNA known as aptamers that bind to the target protein. The researchers then used existing genetic sequencing technology to search for the aptamers and determine which proteins are present.
 
The results were analysed using statistical methods and machine learning techniques to develop predictive models – for example, an individual whose plasma contains a certain pattern of proteins is at increased risk of developing diabetes. The accuracy of the models varied, though the researchers report that their protein-based models were either better predictors than models based on traditional risk factors or would constitute more convenient and less expensive alternatives to traditional testing.
 
For more information, please visit the MRC Epidemiology website.