suPAR Biomarker for Low-Grade Inflammation Diagnosis
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for diagnosing low-grade inflammation and predicting related diseases, such as metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, are inadequate, particularly in apparently healthy individuals and HIV-infected patients on HAART, as they rely on inconsistent and weak markers like TNF-α and IL-6, necessitating a more stable and predictive marker.
Innovation Solution
The use of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) and its D2D3 cleavage products as markers in biological fluids for diagnosing low-grade inflammation, predicting disease risk, and monitoring treatment efficacy, with increased levels indicating inflammation and metabolic syndrome, and decreased levels indicating treatment progress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current markers like TNF-α and IL-6 are used to diagnose low-grade inflammation, then diagnostic capability is provided, but the markers show inconsistency and weak predictive power
Solution Approach 1:
The patent shifts from measuring cytokine levels (TNF-α, IL-6) to measuring suPAR levels, fundamentally changing the diagnostic parameter. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by providing a marker (suPAR) that demonstrates both high consistency and strong predictive power for low-grade inflammation and metabolic syndrome, unlike the previously used cytokine markers
2Measurement precision
If multiple inflammatory markers are measured to improve diagnostic accuracy, then diagnostic capability is enhanced, but test complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and focuses on a single critical marker (suPAR) that captures the essential diagnostic information for low-grade inflammation. This extraction principle resolves the contradiction by demonstrating that one well-chosen marker (suPAR) can provide diagnostic accuracy comparable to or better than multiple markers, thereby simplifying the diagnostic process
Solution Approach 2:
The suPAR marker serves multiple diagnostic functions simultaneously: it indicates low-grade inflammation, predicts metabolic syndrome risk, and monitors treatment response. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by showing that a single marker can replace multiple specialized markers, maintaining comprehensive diagnostic capability while reducing test complexity
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 2C~2D
AI summary
The invention concerns a marker for low-grade inflammation and/or low-grade inflammation-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, ischemic heart disease and type 2 diabetes. More particularly it concerns the measurement of the concentration of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) in human biological fluids (sputum, cystic fluid, ascites, serum, plasma, urine) as a tool of diagnosing and/or prognosticating low-grade inflammation and the risk of development of the related diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, ischemic heart disease and type 2 diabetes.