Using super-resolution microscopy to detect and resolve the distribution of biomarkers that are relevant in a range of immuno-oncology studies

Abstract

Abstract Super-resolution imaging is a novel, Nobel prize-winning technology that can count individual receptors on the membranes of tumour cells and immune cells. It is ultra-sensitive, able to detect as few as 10 molecules per cell. Moreover, super-resolution provides the molecular coordinates of these receptors with nanometre precision, allowing unprecedented accuracy to investigate the interaction between multiple protein species. We will highlight the ability of super-resolution to detect and resolve the distribution of biomarkers that are relevant in a range of immuno-oncology studies. Recently developed tools allowed us to parameterize the molecular distribution of a target such as checkpoint inhibitors. We further revealed the intermolecular distances between two targets of a novel bispecific proteins. These methods are more relevant than ever before, as ONI’s Nanoimager has packaged the necessary tools into a plug-and-play, desktop-compatible solution. This system shows dynamic imaging of live cell-cell interactions to immune synapse profiling at single molecule detection with nanometre resolution imaging that applies to fixed cells and tissue sections.