New Method to Identify Protein in Body Fluids

Researchers at McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton have developed a straightforward, quick test that can detect the presence of protein in body fluids contributing to severe asthma, building on decades of research into the underlying mechanics of asthma and other respiratory disorders.

The development of a new rapid test that can quickly and precisely identify white blood cells known as eosinophils, even when they are present in complex biological samples like sputum, was led by John Brennan, director of McMaster’s Biointerfaces Institute, and Parameswaran Nair, a respirologist at the St. Joseph’s-based Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health.

Making critical decisions about patient treatment can be aided by clinicians having timely and accurate information about the presence of eosinophils.

When the test is certified for clinical use, it may easily be adapted for mass production because it resembles the well-known COVID-19 home test.

The DNAzyme, a protein-targeting element that was produced and used by the researchers to create the new test, was modified for use in the quick test.

DNAzymes were developed largely for the detection of metals or bacterial targets since they were first discovered in 1994. Nobody had previously been successful in employing DNAzymes to target particular protein markers in any situation.

Brennan thinks the new test platform might be modified to identify any material of biological origin by identifying its protein signature now that the team has conquered this challenge.

The quick test is the result of Brennan and Nair’s multi-decade collaboration, which in turn builds on decades-old work done at the institutions.

“This is what our collaboration set out to achieve,” says Brennan, one two corresponding authors of a new paper in Angewandte Chemie International Edition. “This test and others like it can have the kind of lasting, meaningful impact that will improve or even save many lives.”

“Previous research at the Firestone Institute, led by the late Professor Freddy Hargreave, had pioneered another technique to enumerate eosinophils in sputum to guide asthma treatment,” says Professor Nair, who is a respiratory physician at St. Joe’s and a Professor of Medicine at McMaster University. “However, this method is cumbersome and time-consuming, and therefore is not widely available to patients. This new approach is a huge advancement to make the technique more widely applicable.”

Monsur Ali, Manali Mukherjee, Katherine Radford, Zil Patel, and Fred Capretta are co-authors with Brennan and Nair. The following crucial step in bringing the novel test to market is a comprehensive clinical trial, which the researchers are currently organizing.

According to Nair, a quick test to identify eosinophilia would aid clinicians in deciding whether to prescribe new biologics or steroids to patients with severe asthma or other lung conditions linked to eosinophilia, such as severe cough and COPD. Limiting the usage of antibiotics that isn’t necessary would also be beneficial.

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