The Fine Balance of Immunology

The immune system often plays a role in the onset and progression of different disorders such as autoimmunity, fibrosis, and cancer. Understanding which cell types, cytokines, pathways, and transcription factors are involved in the balance between immune activation and suppression can lead to better treatments for chronic inflammation and disease. In addition to traditional bulk expression and proteomic analysis, spatial profiling of the location of immune cells in tissue can yield a better understanding of disease pathogenesis, uncovering differences within individuals as well as novel biomarkers for stratification and treatment.

Challenges

We know it’s a challenge as an immunologist to piece together what underlies healthy versus exhausted or abnormal immune system function. Projects often involve many different research techniques, cell types, and biomolecules and you may be working with a variety of sample types.  Even more of a challenge is understanding how different immune cells and biomolecules function and communicate in situ in the tissue in response to disease. 

How much could you advance your understanding of the immune system if you had access to a multiplexed technology platform for transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of multiple sample types such as Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) tissue sections, fresh frozen tissue, cell lysates, PBMCs and whole blood? Make an impact on human health faster with streamlined bulk and spatial analysis of RNA, protein, and immune cell types using the combined power of the nCounter® Analysis System and the GeoMx® Digital Spatial Profiler.

Publications

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Mapping the Immune Cell Microenvironment with Spatial Profiling in Muscle Tissue Injected with the Venom of Daboia russelii

Pathological and inflammatory events in muscle after the injection of snake venoms vary in different regions of the affected tissue and at different time intervals. In order to study such heterogeneity in the immune cell microenvironment, a murine model of muscle necrosis based on the injection of the venom of Daboia russelii was used.

Spatial transcriptomic characterization of COVID-19 pneumonitis identifies immune circuits related to tissue injury

Severe lung damage resulting from COVID-19 involves complex interactions between diverse populations of immune and stromal cells. In this study, we used a spatial transcriptomics approach to delineate the cells, pathways, and genes present across the spectrum of histopathological damage in COVID-19-affected lung tissue.

Digital Spatial Profiling of Glomerular Gene Expression in Pauci-Immune Focal Necrotizing Glomerulonephritis

Pauci-immune focal necrotizing glomerulonephritis (piFNGN) involves asynchronous onset and progression of injurious lesions in biopsies. Pathologists can describe this heterogeneity within a biopsy, but translating the information into prognostic or expression analyses is challenging.

Related Resources

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Product Bulletin Autoimmune Profiling Panel – Product Bulletin
Updating immune cell deconvolution for the spatial genomics era
Webinar Defining the function of genes associated with chronic inflammatory diseases: The nCounter® Autoimmune Discovery Consortium Panel
Blog Post Q&A with Dr. Salla Keskitalo: Challenges and Opportunities in Studying Rare and Ultra-rare Autoimmune Diseases
Blog Post Solid Organ Transplantation and the Immunology of Rejection. Q&A with GeoMx® Digital Spatial Profiler Grant Winner Dr. Fadi Issa
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