Biomarkers in Pediatric ARDS: Future Directions

Orwoll, Benjamin E.; Sapru, Anil

New types of biomarkers, such as non-protein and nucleic acidbased biomarkers, are potentially rich sources of information that remain relatively untapped in pediatric populations. Challenges remain, especially in the technical aspects of isolating, characterizing, and quantifying non-protein biomarkers in large numbers of children with ARDS. However, technological advancement, especially in the realm of nucleic acid sequencing with polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods, has dramatically reduced both the price and processing time for assays of genetic material. Methods for large-scale isolation of lipid vesicle-based MPs are not yet well-developed but will certainly improve in the coming years. Both nucleic acids and lipid vesicles are very appealing as both markers and as potential therapeutic agents, as they have potential to act through tissue and biochemical pathway-specific mechanisms that may increase potency and decrease unwanted side effects. Non-protein biomarkers thus represent a significant field for future research in pARDS.