Postdoc Start-up Grant: Delineating Molecular Patterns of MINOCA for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Purposes

Despite major advances in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (MI), myocardial infarction without obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) represents a poorly defined clinical picture, accounting for up to 15% of all MI cases. In contrast to classic MI, in which there is a large occlusion in one of the coronary vessels, patients with MINOCA suffer from many, small micro-vessel occlusions that are undetectable on cardiac catheterization examination due to their size. Until today there is a lack of early diagnostic methods as well as adapted therapies for MINOCA, which leads to a high mortality rate of these patients. Therefore, in this project we would like to characterize molecular alterations underlying the development of MINOCA and distinguish it from a classical MI by means of a newly developed animal model close to the clinic. Thus, we can identify molecules that could allow early diagnosis of MINOCA in patients with acute myocardial infarction and simultaneously serve as therapeutic targets, paving the way for early and adapted therapy.