(Salzburg/Vienna, 25 September 2025) Clemens Gutmann, resident physician at the Clinical Division of Cardiology at MedUni Vienna, has been awarded the Paracelsus Prize by the Austrian Society for Internal Medicine (Österreichische Gesellschaft für Innere Medizin, ÖGIM) for his study on the role of non-coding RNAs in platelet activation and antiplatelet therapy in acute myocardial infarction.
The Paracelsus Prize is awarded by the ÖGIM in recognition of outstanding scientific contributions in the field of internal medicine.
Gutmann’s translational research provides insights into the role of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in platelet activation and antiplatelet therapy. The project integrated analyses of multiple sample types, including platelets, platelet releasates, and plasma, from a population-based cohort (the Bruneck Study) and a clinical trial in myocardial infarction patients (PACMAN-AMI), alongside experimental work investigating the compartmentalization and release pathways of platelet ncRNAs.
The study demonstrated that platelets release different classes of non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs, Y-RNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs, into the circulation via different carriers. Two different release pathways were identified: a strong, protein-bound mechanism for microRNAs and Y-RNAs, and a comparatively weaker, vesicle-bound mechanism for circular RNAs and long non-coding RNAs. In addition, non-coding RNAs were identified whose release occurs predominantly via signaling pathways that are inhibited by common platelet inhibitors – such as miR-21 via the arachidonic acid signaling pathway (e.g. aspirin) or miR-150 via the P2Y12 signaling pathway (e.g. clopidogrel, ticagrelor or prasugrel). These findings highlight the diverse mechanisms by which non-coding RNAs are released from platelets.
In the Bruneck study and the PACMAN-AMI trial, these non-coding RNAs were then compared with conventional platelet function tests, representing the largest investigation of its kind to date. The study found that standard ex vivo aggregation assays may be confounded in patients with elevated inflammatory markers (e.g. C-reactive protein), as platelets may be preactivated in vivo and then appear exhausted ex vivo. In such cases, non-coding RNAs may better reflect platelet activation in vivo and could complement the information obtained by conventional platelet function tests.
The paper, entitled "Platelets and inflammation – insights from platelet non-coding RNA content and release in the Bruneck study and the PACMAN-AMI trial", was published in June 2025 in Cardiovascular Research.
About the author
Clemens Gutmann studied medicine at the Medical University of Innsbruck, where he also completed his foundation medical training. He then received a British Heart Foundation scholarship, enabling him to conduct his PhD in the laboratory of Manuel Mayr in London. Since returning to Austria, he has been working at the Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine II at MedUni Vienna. He is currently training as a specialist in internal medicine and cardiology while continuing his cardiovascular research in close collaboration with Manuel Mayr, who holds a Cardiovascular Cluster Professorship at MedUni Vienna.