Frontiers in Medicine (Sep 2019)

Cardiogeneticsbank@UZA: A Collection of DNA, Tissues, and Cell Lines as a Translational Tool

  • Maaike Alaerts,
  • Gerarda van de Beek,
  • Ilse Luyckx,
  • Josephina Meester,
  • Dorien Schepers,
  • Aline Verstraeten,
  • Johan Saenen,
  • Emeline Van Craenenbroeck,
  • Inge Goovaerts,
  • Inez Rodrigus,
  • Steven Laga,
  • Jeroen Hendriks,
  • Sofie Goethals,
  • Annemieke De Wilde,
  • Elke Smits,
  • Philippe Jorens,
  • Manon Huizing,
  • Lut Van Laer,
  • Bart Loeys

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2019.00198
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6

Abstract

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Cardiogeneticsbank@UZA is an academic hospital integrated biobank that collects aortic tissue, blood, cell lines (fibroblasts, vascular smooth muscle cells, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells), and DNA from patients with cardiogenetic disorders, for both diagnostic and research purposes. We adhere to a quality management system and have established standard protocols for the sampling and processing of all cardiogenetic patient related materials. Cardiogeneticsbank@UZA is embedded in the Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure Belgium (BBMRI.be) and samples from this biobank are available for commercial and academic researchers, through an established access procedure. Currently, the extremely valuable cardiogenetics collection consists of more than 8,700 DNA samples, 380 tissue samples, and 500 cell lines of 7,578 patients, and is linked with extensive clinical data. Some interesting potential research applications are discussed.

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