What significance could this methodology have for personalized cancer medicine?
Thierry Nordmann: The spatial resolution of the proteome plays a key role, especially in cancer. While every cell in a tumor is part of the disease, certain subpopulations of cells drive tumor malignancy and foster the invasion of surrounding tissues or metastasis. By differentiating particular cell types in tumor tissue, we can identify the role of different signaling pathways and even individual proteins within the tissue architecture. The technology allows us to compare the regions near blood vessels with the initial tumor area and identify processes that contribute to metastasis at distant sites. The precision of our laser system also facilitates an improved extraction of tumor cells from the background of the target organ and enables us to trace the cells back to where they started, meaning the primary tumor site.
Lisa Schweizer: DVP is taking us closer towards making personalized medicine a reality since we can extract malignant cells and compare them directly with surrounding healthy cells. We can also track the tumor development through the tissue structure and visualize the different cell populations and their characteristics. Not only does this deepen our understanding of the factors that influence tumor heterogeneity, but it also allows the identification of individual disease-associated mutations. Although we can classify cancers based on the site at which they started and their gene expression profiles, thanks to factors such as environmental forces, every tumor is truly unique - just like every human being. Accordingly, with the help of our technology, the tumor of an individual patient could be dealt with in a much more individualized way, and this in turn could be treated in a more effective manner.
Could the deep visual proteomics method also be applied to other diseases besides cancer?
Thierry Nordmann: Definitely! Our technology facilitates the characterization of any disease in which spatial resolution in tissue plays a role. Automation and reproducibility of all processes of our technology make it possible to apply the concept to a broad range of unanswered questions – also in medicine.
Lisa Schweizer: We also don't just limit ourselves to diseases, but also include the characterization of tissues and their underlying biology. The field of so-called 'omics' technologies examines the architecture of tissue at the DNA or RNA level as it pertains to the cellular components. Now, DVP allows this field to also extend the analysis to the proteins. Unlike genetic information, the latter are the cell’s executive force.
In summary, with our technology, we hope to push the boundaries of what is possible in proteomics and, in particular, to better understand complex (cancer) diseases.