Sepsis Research FEAT is delighted to announce an extension to its investment in the world leading GenOMICC project at the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute.
Sepsis Research FEAT will financially support GenOMICC to expand and accelerate recruitment to a pilot study, GenOMICC Acute, in which additional blood samples will be obtained from patients shortly after ICU admission.
Like the existing GenOMICC study, GenOMICC Acute will rely on an established network of 212 ICU units across the UK collecting samples from critically ill patients. The process for this will be much the same, but will expand the number and type of blood samples taken. Acute also has the added pressure of sample collection within a time-critical window of 48 hours.
Once collected, the samples will be analysed using Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE) – a technique used to examine RNA. It indicates to scientists which parts of the DNA are being turned into instructions at the time the sample is taken – similar to a photograph of what is going on. cfDNA and cfRNA are degraded forms of DNA and RNA and CAGE is used for its specific properties in making the combined RNA and DNA data much richer. cfDNA and cfRNA circulate in the blood plasma and can act as biomarkers – indicating that specific biological processes are happening that cannot be seen by looking at the blood DNA and RNA themselves.
This combination of specifically selected samples, in conjunction with DNA information, will help provide researchers with an overview of what is happening within a patient’s body at a cellular level at the point of admission to an ICU and when the patient is at their most critically ill. It will provide invaluable data needed to improve treatments and optimise outcomes for sepsis patients.