Curated menu of Off-the-Shelf RNAscope probes provide seamless molecularly-guided region of interest selection for use with the new NGS-enabled cancer transcriptome atlas
RNAscope multiplex fluorescent visualization of cervical cancer. (Credit: NanoString Technologies/Business Wire.)
NanoString Technologies, a leading provider of life science tools for discovery and translational research, and Bio-Techne, a global life sciences company providing innovative tools and bioactive reagents for the research and clinical diagnostic markets, today announced an expansion of their partnership to include compatibility with ACD’s 21,000+ RNAscope probes and 10 qualified RNAscope probe combinations with the GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler (DSP) and the recently launched GeoMx Cancer Transcriptome Atlas (CTA).
A combined workflow has been previously developed that unites the RNAscope reagent portfolio from Bio-Techne with NanoString’s GeoMx RNA Assays to enable researchers to visualize RNA in tissue at the single molecule level to molecularly guide their high-plex spatial analyses on GeoMx DSP. Users can select any RNAscope probe to visualize their FFPE or fresh frozen tissue morphology as an alternative to antibody-based visualization. The full tissue image generated by RNAscope probes is used for region of interest (ROI) selection on GeoMx DSP for high-plex profiling. Ten new 2- or 3-plex qualified RNAscope probe combinations take this workflow one step further, providing pre-qualified RNAscope reagents for use in the joint workflow to ensure cross-assay compatibility. Selected combinations cover key applications in immuno-oncology, including targets difficult to detect with traditional antibodies, such as chemokines, cytokines, immune checkpoints, and key immune cell types.
“One of the top applications of RNAscope is immuno-oncology, which is demonstrated by our large number of top tier publications in this field. Spatial genomics is enabling key research, broadening our understanding of disease mechanisms and pathology, and we are proud to expand its utility through our continued partnership with NanoString,” said Kim Kelderman, President Diagnostics and Genomics Segment, Bio-Techne.
“This next step in our partnership pairs the best of RNAscope’s immuno-oncology imaging content with the comprehensive profiling coverage of the cancer transcriptome with CTA,” said Chad Brown, SVP Sales and Marketing at NanoString. “The launch of the new qualified probes provides an easy to use solution for the spatial visualization and quantification of RNA.”
Users can select from the 10 qualified combinations plus any user-defined probe from the broader RNAscope catalogue to guide selection of ROI followed by profiling of tissue with the CTA. The Cancer Transcriptome Atlas provides quantification of more than 1,800 genes covering 100 pathways critical to understanding tumor biology, immune response and the tumor microenvironment, providing a complete spatial view of cancer biology. RNAscope can then be used downstream of GeoMx DSP analysis to confirm findings. The combination of RNAscope’s unprecedented sensitivity, whole slide coverage, and single cell resolution with the high multiplex gene coverage of the GeoMx Cancer Transcriptome Atlas delivers an industry leading assay that enables spatial quantitation.
Source: Company Press Release