A personal history of markers of myocyte injury [myocardial infarction]

BackgroundThe measurement of proteins in blood to reflect damage to the heart is one of the most successful examples of easily measured biomarkers identifying a serious major health problem. The concept of using a blood test to reflect organ or cell injury requires a substance that is very abundant in the target cell, has a means of reaching blood, a reasonable half-life in blood, and ideally a specific form reflective only of the target cell in tissue. The myocyte's major role is contraction so proteins involved in contraction or the energy to support it should be good candidate markers.ConclusionsAll the various biomarkers that have been used to detect cardiac damage are involved in contraction or energy metabolism, but the markers evolved empirically starting with transaminases in the 1950s leading to troponins in the 1990s. This history is reviewed with reflections on my experiences with developing assays for CK-MB and Troponin I.