Jeanette Hill (Presenter)
Spot On Sciences
Bio: Dr. Jeanette Hill is Founder and CEO of Spot On Sciences, which develops medical devices to allow a blood sample to be taken at home with a finger stick. She has more than 20 years experience in research and management positions in small and large biotech companies, developing products for preclinical drug testing. She received a Ph.D. in Bio-organic Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis with research in protein engineering and completed post-doctoral research on liver disease and diabetes at Case Western Reserve University and Washington University Medical School.
Authorship: Rob T. Taylor., James E Hill., Jason Wright, and Jeanette R. Hill
Spot On Sciences, Inc.
| Short Abstract Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the number one cause of death globally, representing 30% of all deaths and the majority of events occur in the early morning. To examine circadian effects on CVD biomarkers, blood samples were collected at 8 time points within a 24 h period with the HemaSpot HF collection device that enables self-collection at home. Cortisol displayed a diurnal expression pattern in all five donors that was consistent over three separate days. Collection and analysis of blood samples at relevant time points over a 24 h time period will provide important data for circadian levels of key analytes for chronic disease. |
Long Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the number one cause of death globally, representing 30% of all deaths. Current predictive models for CVD evaluate risk factors such as smoking, elevated blood pressure (BP), and diabetes; however, nearly 25% of CVD events occur in people with minimal identifiable risk. Recent data from the Hygia study in Spain shows that elevated BP during sleep time represents a 2-fold increased risk for an adverse event (i.e., heart attack, heart failure, or stroke), even when awake time BP is normal. Additionally, survival of at-risk patients is increased up to 5-fold by the simple behavior change of ingesting BP medications at bedtime instead of upon awaking!
Disruption of the body’s circadian rhythms has been linked to cancer, diabetes, obesity, and CVD with adverse events occurring most commonly in the early waking hours. The steroid hormone cortisol is biomarker that reflects the body’s response to physiological stress. Disruption of cortisol chronobiology can be considered as a risk factor for CVD-related adverse effects. New tools are needed to collect blood samples and to monitor biomarkers from blood over a 24-hour period to elucidate the mechanisms of CVD related adverse events.
HemaSpot HF is a simple to use blood collection device that allows self-sampling and robust shipping and storage of a blood sample. 2-3 drops of whole blood were self-collected by finger stick by five healthy individuals onto the HemaSpot HF at 8 time points over a 24-hour period: 1) upon awakening 2) 2h post awakening 3) 4h post awakening 4) 8 h post awakening 5) 12 h post awakening 6) at bedtime 7) 3h after bedtime (by alarm clock) and 8) upon awakening the following morning. Samples were stored at ambient temperature for up to 3 months or under refrigeration for longer term storage.
Two blades were removed from the HemaSpot-HF device by clean forceps and placed into 200 ul of extraction solvent (ACN:Water (50/50) with 0.1 ng/ml tolbutamide for internal standard). Samples were sonicated for 60 minutes in a water bath followed by vortex for 30 minutes. 165 ul of extraction solution was added to 500 ul of tert Butyl Methyl Ether (MTBE) in a new microcentrifuge tube. Samples were vortexed for 10 seconds and allowed to rest for 5 minutes before centrifugation at 8000 RPM for 10 minutes. The top aqueous phase of the solution was removed and placed into matrix tubes and allowed to evaporate to dryness. Pellets were resuspended in 100 ul of methanol with 0.1% formic acid and samples were run on Shimadzu SIL HT autosampler and injected into a Waters (Milford, MA) Micromass Quatro Ultima triple quad mass spectrometer. Cortisol levels were normalized to the tolbutamide internal standard.
Cortisol levels showed a diurnal expression over a 24-hour period with the highest peak at early morning in all five donors and that was consistent over three separate days.
The HemaSpot HF device is an optimal tool for determining the chronobiology of biomarkers in blood for cardiovascular disease.
References & Acknowledgements:
| Description | Y/N | Source |
| Grants | yes | Spot On Sciences |
| Salary | yes | Spot On Sciences |
| Board Member | no | |
| Stock | no | |
| Expenses | no |
IP Royalty: no
| Planning to mention or discuss specific products or technology of the company(ies) listed above: | yes |