Human proteome and cardiovascular health in diverse populations

The proteome is fundamental to understanding human biology and disease. Most drugs target proteins which are required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body tissues and organs (e.g. antibodies, enzymes, structural proteins, and transport proteins). The advent of high-throughput proteomic assays now enables measurement of plasma levels of many thousands of proteins. The China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) measured ~3000 proteins using OLINK Explore platform and >7000 proteins using SomaScan platform among 4000 genotyped individuals. Based on CKB and UKB OLINK proteomic data, the talk will describe recently completed (e.g. JACC 2023) and on-going work in relation to IHD aetiology, risk prediction, and drug target validation and discovery. The findings highlight the unique potential of proteomic profiling in diverse populations, particularly when combined with genetic data, for major discoveries.