This document provides methods and materials involved in assessing mammals with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), as well as methods and materials involved in assessing outcomes. For example, methods and materials for using the level of plasma CNP and the level of urinary CNP to determine whether or not a mammal is developing or likely to develop more severe ADHF, as well as methods and materials for using the level of plasma CNP and the level of urinary CNP to identify patients having an increased likelihood of experiencing a poor outcome are provided.

Disclosed herein are methods and compositions for the detection of biomarkers for cardiac diseases. Disclosed herein are sample collection devices comprising detection devices for heart failure. Disclosed herein are methods of detecting, monitoring, preventing, or treating heart failure.

The present invention relates to an antibody specifically binding the carboxymethylated catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2Ac). Also provided are diagnostic uses of said antibody and screening methods employing the inventive antibody.

The invention provides a new method for identifying peptide antigens relevant to a non-autoimmune disease involving T cell activation as well as novel peptides identified therefrom. The isolated peptides of the invention are useful in the diagnosis, prevention and/or treatment of a cardiovascular disease, more specifically heart failure (HF). The invention further provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising at least one isolated peptide of the invention and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, vehicle, excipient and/or diluent. The pharmaceutical composition of the invention is suitable to be orally administered as a tolerizing vaccine.

The invention relates to a method for detecting and measuring the presence of mono-nucleosomes and oligo-nucleosomes and nucleosomes that contain particular histone variants and the use of such measurements for the detection and diagnosis of disease. The invention also relates to a method of identifying histone variant biomarkers for the detection and diagnosis of disease and to biomarkers identified by said method.

Compositions are directed to BCL2-associated athanogene 3 (BAG3) molecules and agents which modulate expression of BAG3 molecules. Pharmaceutical composition for administration to patients, for example, patients with heart failure, comprise one or more BAG3 molecules or agents which modulate expression of BAG3. Methods of treatment and identifying candidate therapeutic agents are also provided.

A method of immunoassay for detecting and/or monitoring a cardiovascular disease in a patient and/or assessing the likelihood of or the severity of a cardiovascular disease in a patient, comprising contacting a biofluid sample from a patient with a monoclonal antibody that specifically binds to a C-terminal epitope of the C5 domain of the α3 chain of type VI collagen, and/or contacting a biofluid sample from the patient with a monoclonal antibody that specifically binds to a C-terminal neo-epitope of the N-terminal propeptide of type III collagen.

The present disclosure relates to compositions and methods for treating a dysregulated wound healing, for improving wound healing, for inhibiting scar formation, for treating a subject with Ehlers Danlos syndrome (EDS), and for treating a subject diagnosed with a heart attack. The present disclosure further relates to compositions and methods for predicting future cardiac risk in a subject who has suffered a heart attack, and predicting risk of future cardiac disease in a subject suffering a heart attack.

Disclosed is a method comprising acquiring a value relating to VEGF-A of a subject, wherein the value is a measured value of total VEGF-A in a blood sample, or a value obtained by dividing a measured value of VEGF-A.sub.165b in the blood sample by a measured value of total VEGF-A in the blood sample (VEGF-A.sub.165b/total VEGF-A), and the value suggests prognosis of myocardial infarction of the subject or severity of coronary artery disease of the subject.

Methods for the detection, monitoring, and treatment of cardiac fibrosis, progression of cardiac fibrosis, or heart failure in a subject comprising: (a) contacting a sample obtained from the subject with a binding agent that binds a region of cartilage intermediate layer protein 1 (CILP) that spans the cleavage site of the CILP precursor or a nucleotide encoding same. The cardiac fibrosis may be associated with one or more of: ischemia, congenital defect, familial fibrosis, infiltrative fibrosis, idiopathic fibrosis, amyloidosis, hemosiderosis, valvular disease, and other idiopathic cardiomyopathies.