BM0904 - HDL - from biological understanding to clinical exploitation

The main objective of this Action is the formation of a scientific network dedicated to a better understanding of the biology of HDL, the identification of targets for novel HDL-based therapies and the discovery of biomarkers which can be used for diagnostics, prevention and monitoring of cardiovascular disease risk.

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is an attractive target for preventing and curing coronary artery disease (CAD) in view of the inverse association between plasma HDL cholesterol and CAD risk as well as the multiple beneficial, anti-atherogenic properties of HDL. As yet, no effective HDL-tailored therapy of CAD is available. This may be due to the fact that HDLs differ in composition and functionality which necessitates the search for the proper biomarkers to assess and monitor HDL-related CAD risk. This COST Action (acronym: HDLnet) therefore aims to create a scientific network of leading European investigators working on epidemiology, clinical aspects, genetics, structure, function, metabolism and regulation of HDL in order to foster multidisciplinary and collaborative HDL research. The scientific goals of this Action will be pursued by five working groups. They will obtain, share and discuss novel information on structure, function and regulation of HDL, exchange resources and technology and develop strategies to exploit this knowledge and know-how for diagnostics and therapy of disturbed HDL metabolism and atherosclerosis. The major economic/societal benefits from this Action will be the reduction of CAD-related morbidity and mortality in Europe and the support of the European biomedical industry and economic competitiveness.