The granin proteins secretoneurin and chromogranin A represent promising new prognostic biomarkers in patients with heart disease.

PhD candidate Anett Hellebø Ottesen has investigated the prognostic value of secretoneurin in patients with acute heart failure and in patients with ventricular arrhythmia–induced cardiac arrest. She also looked at chromogranin A in heart failure. Both biomarkers were strong predictors of mortality.

The researchers found that secretoneurin was closely associated with mortality in 143 patients with acute heart failure and short-term mortality in 155 patients with cardiac arrest induced by ventricular arrhythmia. In experimental models, secretoneurin improved cardiomyocyte calcium handling, indicating that the higher levels observed in the patients with the highest risk represent protective compensatory mechanisms.

In another study, chromogranin A levels predicted premature death in patients with acute heart failure, but not in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD. Low conversion from chromogranin A to catestatin was also associated with worse prognosis, and conversion was impaired in heart failure because of hyperglycosylation. Catestatin improved cardiomyocyte calcium handling, possibly explaining the association between high chromogranin A levels and adverse outcome.

THESIS DEFENCE

Thesis: Functional aspects of granin proteins in cardiac disease
Candidate: Anett Hellebø Ottesen
Time and place: March 31, 2017, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog

REFERENCES

Ottesen, A. H., Louch, W. E., Carlson, C. R., Landsverk, O. J., Kurola, J., Johansen, R. F., Moe, M. K., Aronsen, J. M., Høiseth, A. D., Harstadmarken, H., Nygård, S., Bjørås, M., Sjaastad, I., Pettilä, V., Stridsberg, M., Omland, T., Christensen, G., & Røsjø, H. (2015). Secretoneurin is a novel prognostic cardiovascular biomarker associated with cardiomyocyte calcium handling. Journal of the American college of cardiology, 65(4), 339-351.

Røsjø, H., Stridsberg, M., Ottesen, A. H., Nygård, S., Christensen, G., Pettilä, V., Linko, R., Karlsson, S., Varpula, T., Ruokonen, E., & Omland, T. (2016). Prognostic value of secretoneurin in critically ill patients with infections. Critical care medicine, 44(10), 1882-1890.

Myhre, P. L., Ottesen, A. H., Okkonen, M., Linko, R., Stridsberg, M., Nygård, S., Christensen, G., Pettilä, V., Omland, T., & Røsjø, H. (2016). Prognostic Value of Secretoneurin in Patients with Acute Respiratory Failure: Data from the FINNALI Study. Clinical chemistry, 62(10), 1380-1389.

Ottesen, A. H., Carlson, C. R., Louch, W. E., Dahl, M. B., Sandbu, R. A., Johansen, R. F., Jarstadmarken, H., Bjørås, M., Høiseth, A. D., Brynildsen, J., Sjaastad, I., Stridsberg, M., Omland, T., Christensen, G., & Røsjø, H. (2017). Glycosylated Chromogranin A in Heart FailureCLINICAL PERSPECTIVE. Circulation: Heart Failure, 10(2), e003675.