An IRBLleida researcher has received an international award for a study on blood biomarkers associated with different types of coronary heart disease

Marta Molinero, a researcher at the Lleida Biomedical Research Institute (IRBLleida), has received one of the awards for the best poster at the 5th MC/*WG Meeting of the COSTE Action AtheroNET, held in Prague. The award-winning work presented the results of a study on the relationship between circulating microRNA profiles and different types of coronary artery disease, involving researchers from IRBLleida and the University of Lleida (UdL), as well as professionals from the Cardiology Department at Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital (HUAV).

This recognition highlights the findings of a multicentre study which has identified biomarkers present in the blood that are associated with different types of coronary artery disease. The research involved the Cardiac Physiology and Pathology Research Group and the Clinical and Molecular Phenotyping Research Group at IRBLleida.

Coronary artery disease remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Coronary artery disease can affect both the main arteries supplying the heart - known as the macrovascular circulation - and the smaller blood vessels that make up the coronary microcirculation. Identifying these different forms of disease is important for better understanding the condition and moving towards more personalised care.

The study, published in the journal Atherosclerosis, analysed blood samples from patients with suspected chronic coronary syndrome. The aim was to investigate whether circulating microRNAs - small molecules present in the blood that reflect different biological processes - can provide additional information about the type of coronary involvement present in each patient.

The research team, led by IRBLleida researcher David de Gonzalo-Calvo, has identified different miRNA profiles depending on the type of macrovascular and microvascular disease. Furthermore, the results have enabled the identification of a combination of three miRNAs associated with abnormalities in the main coronary arteries.

These results suggest that the analysis of circulating microRNAs could, in future, help to better characterise patients with coronary heart disease and complement the information provided by existing clinical tools. However, these biomarkers will need to be validated in independent studies before any clinical application can be considered.

"The information obtained from these molecules could help to characterise the different types of coronary involvement more precisely and, in the future, complement the tools we currently use to assess these patients," emphasises David de Gonzalo-Calvo.

The research also highlights the molecular heterogeneity of coronary heart disease, with different microRNA profiles depending on the type of coronary involvement. This finding contributes to a better understanding of the complexity of the disease and reinforces the case for moving towards precision medicine strategies tailored to the biological characteristics of each patient.

The study forms part of the ANFIBIO project, a multicentre research initiative coordinated by Dr Lucía Matute and Dr Diego Fernández-Rodríguez, which investigates the relationship between different types of coronary circulation impairment and biomarkers present in the blood. It has received support from the Spanish Society of Cardiology, the Spanish Heart Foundation, the Carlos III Health Institute, the European Union, the ICREA Academia programme and the CIBER for Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES).

Article: Matute-Blanco L, Benítez ID, Belmonte T, Casanova-Sandoval J, Garcia-Guimaraes M, Molinero M, Rivera K, Fuertes-Ferre G, Pérez Guerrero A, Millán Segovia R, Barbè F, Bardají A, Worner F, Fernández-Rodríguez D, de Gonzalo-Calvo D. Coronary macrovascular and microvascular involvement and their association with distinct circulating microRNA patterns: The ANFIBIO Study. Atherosclerosis. 2026 Jun;417:120778. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2026.120778. Epub 2026 May 12. PMID: 42215003.

Text: IRBLleida Communications and Press Office