# Quantifying proteins in plasma do democratize personalized medicine for patients with type 1 diabetes

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2024 · $848,497

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Type 1 diabetes affects more than 1.25 million people in the United States and the annual
incidence is increasing at an alarming rate of 3-4%. The emotional and financial burden of the
disease is overwhelming and we currently have no way to predict or prevent new cases. As we
gain a better understanding of the pathophysiological processes in the pancreas and the
downstream effects of hyperglycemia (and periodic hypoglycemia during treatment), more
robust biomarker assays are needed to improve the reproducibility of research findings and to
translate those findings to clinical care. One technology that can provide robust, transferable
assays for the measurement of proteins is liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.
By directly detecting the analyte of interest, assays that use mass spectrometry detection can
have better specificity than immunoassays and when paired with enrichment strategies, they
can also be very sensitive. As we have demonstrated previously, it is straightforward to
harmonize the results of mass spectrometric assays, which is significantly more difficult for
immunoassays in general. This proposal aims to generate and validate novel transferable
protein assays that harness the power of mass spectrometry. We aim to leverage a new method
for the enrichment of extracellular vesicles and new de novo proteins for affinity enrichment,
called minibinders, to help with sensitivity of the methods. Whenever possible, assays will be
multiplexed and if antibodies are required for enrichment, they will be widely distributed through
the Iowa Hybridoma Bank. Plasmids encoding minibinders will be deposited at Addgene.
Chromatographic data from method development (particularly peptide selection, which will use
narrow-window data-independent acquisition rather than relying on algorithms or data-
dependent acquisition methods) as well as chromatographic data from method validation will be
distributed via Panorama, along with detailed standard operating procedures. As requested in
RFA DK-21-031, a portion of the assays produced will target glucagon, other fragments of
proglucagon, proinsulin and its fragments, glycated soluble CD59, amylin, and the
chromogranins. Our Target Prioritization Committee will help identify the most important
proteins to add to this list and focus our development efforts.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10891722
- **Project number:** 5U01DK137097-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** ANDREW N HOOFNAGLE
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $848,497
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-07-21 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10891722

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10891722, Quantifying proteins in plasma do democratize personalized medicine for patients with type 1 diabetes (5U01DK137097-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10891722. Licensed CC0.

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