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NanoString Technologies

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NanoString Technologies, Inc
Company typePrivate
IndustryBiotechnology
Founded2003
Headquarters
Seattle, WA
,
U.S.
Websitehttp://www.nanostring.com

NanoString Technologies, Inc.

NanoString Technologies is a privately held life sciences company that develops and manufactures solutions for detecting and counting large sets of target molecules in biological samples. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Seattle, WA[1].

The company's products are based on a digital molecular barcoding technology invented at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in Seattle under the direction of Dr. Leroy Hood. This technology underlies the company’s nCounter™ Analysis System which became commercially available worldwide in 2008.[2]

NanoString’s products are used for a variety of discovery and translational research applications including gene expression[3], miRNA analysis, and copy number variation analysis. NanoString is also developing the technology for use in molecular diagnostics.

Brad Gray is President and CEO of NanoString. The company’s investors include Clarus Ventures, OVP Venture Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

The Technology

The nCounter Analysis System utilizes a digital technology that is based direct multiplexed measurement of gene expression that is capable of high levels precision and sensitivity at less than 1 transcript copy per cell.[4] The technology uses molecular "barcodes" and single-molecule imaging to detect and count hundreds of unique transcripts in a single reaction.[5]

Each color-coded barcode is attached to a single target-specific probe corresponding to a gene of interest. Mixed together with controls, they form a multiplexed assay. This process includes the following steps:

  • Hybridization: NanoString’s Technology employs two ~50 base probes per mRNA that hybridize in solution. The Reporter Probe carries the signal; the Capture Probe allows the complex to be immobilized for data collection.
  • Purification and Immobilization: After hybridization, the excess probes are removed and the probe/target complexes are aligned and immobilized in the nCounter Cartridge.
  • Data Collection: Sample Cartridges are placed in the Digital Analyzer instrument for data collection. Color codes on the surface of the cartridge are counted and tabulated for each target molecule.

The nCounter Analysis System primarily addresses the target validation and routine testing segments of the genomics research market in both academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Cancer research and biomarker validation are two of the areas where NanoString has seen the most rapid adoption of its nCounter Analysis System.

Key Technology Concepts

Digital Detection In contrast to analog detection, digital detection does not rely on relative levels of signal, such as fluorescence, for detection and quantification. Instead, digital detection relies on discrete units for measurement. In the case of NanoString technology, digital detection is used on two levels. First, each transcript is detected by a probe bound to a segment of DNA that is attached to a unique string of colored fluorophores (the molecular barcode). Identification of that transcript therefore depends only on the order of fluors on the string, rather than intensities of the fluors. Secondly, the number of total transcripts in a sample is quantified by counting the total number of times a particular string of fluors (barcode) is detected.

Direct Detection Direct detection refers to the detection of a molecule of interest directly without conversion to a different type of molecule or amplification of that molecule. Unlike microarrays or PCR-based gene expression analysis technologies, the nCounter system does not rely on synthesis of a cDNA strand or PCR amplification. Therefore, no enzymes are used in our procedure. Instead, our barcode-labeled probes anneal directly to mRNAs in solution, and the hybrid molecule is then immobilized, detected and counted.

Products

NanoString’s products include:

The nCounter Analysis System: The system is comprised of two instruments. The Prep Station which is an automated fluidic instrument that immobilizes CodeSet complexes for data collection and the Digital Analyzer which is where data is derived through the counting of fluorescent barcodes.

CodeSets: CodeSets are custom-made or pre-designed sets of color-coded probes pre-mixed with a set of system controls for use in a variety of basic research and translational medicine applications including gene expression, miRNA analysis, and copy number variation.

Management

Executive Leadership

  • Brad Gray, President and Chief Executive Officer
  • Nalini Murdter, Ph.D., Chief Business Officer
  • Wayne Burns, Chief Financial Officer
  • Mary Tedd Allen, Ph.D., Vice President of Manufacturing
  • Jonathan Roy, Vice President of Sales
  • Philippa Webster, Ph.D., Sr. Principal Scientist

Board of Directors

  • William D. Young, Executive Chairman of the Board
  • Brad Gray, President and Chief Executive Officer
  • Jennifer Scott Fonstad, Draper Fisher Jurvetson
  • Nicholas Galakatos, Ph.D., Clarus Ventures
  • Chad Waite, OVP Venture Partners
  • H. Perry Fell, Ph.D.

Publications List

  1. Geiss, G.K. et al. Direct multiplexed measurement of gene expression with color-coded probe pairs. Nature Biotechnology 26: 317-25 (2008).
  2. Materna, S.C. et al. High accuracy, high-resolution prevalence measurement for the majority of locally expressed regulatory genes in early sea urchin development. Gene Expression Patterns doi:10.1016/j.gep.2010.04.002 (2010).
  3. Dixit et al. Peroxisomes Are Signaling Platforms for Antiviral Innate Immunity. Cell 2010 May 6;doi:10.1016/j.cell.2010.04.018
  4. Nam, J., Dong, P., Tarpine, R., Istrail, S., Davidson, E.H. Functional cis-regulatory genomics for systems biology. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010 Feb 23;107(8):3930-5. Epub 2010 Feb 8.
  5. Smith, E.R., Cai, K.Q., Smedberg, J.L., Ribeiro, M.M., Rula, M.E., Slater, C., Godwin, A.K., Xu, X.X. Nuclear entry of activated MAPK is restricted in primary ovarian and mammary epithelial cells. PLoS One 2010 Feb 18;5(2):e9295.
  6. Ouellet, M. et al. A rapid and inexpensive labeling method for microarray gene expression analysis. BMC Biotechnology 2009 Nov 25;9(1):97. Epub ahead of print.
  7. Amit, I. et al. Unbiased Reconstruction of a Mammalian Transcriptional Network Mediating Pathogen Responses. Science 2009 Oct 9; Vol. 326. no. 5950, pp. 257-263.
  8. Palamanda, J.R. et al. Evaluation of CYP1A1 and CYP2B1/2 m-RNA Induction in Rat Liver Slices Using the NanoString® Technology: A Novel Tool for Drug Discovery Lead Optimization. Drug Metabolism Letters 2009 Aug;3(3):171-5. Epub 2009 Aug 1.
  9. Payton, J.E. et al. High throughput digital quantification of mRNA abundance in primary human acute myeloid leukemia samples. The Journal of Clinical Investigation 119(6): 1714-1726 (2009).
  10. Vladislav, M.A. et al. Multiplexed measurements of gene signatures in different analytes using the NanoString nCounter Assay System. BMC Research Notes 2: 80 (2009).
  11. Yi-Hsien Su et al. A Perturbation Model of the Gene Regulatory Network for Oral and Aboral Ectoderm Specification in the Sea Urchin Embryo. Developmental Biology 329: 410-421 (2009).
  12. Birtwell, S. et al. Microparticle encoding technologies for high-throughput multiplexed suspension assays. Integrative Biology 1: 227-436 (2009).
  13. Geiss, G.K. et al. Direct multiplexed measurement of gene expression with color-coded probe pairs. Nature Biotechnology 26: 317-25 (2008). Download Supplemental Data.

References

  1. ^ http:\seattletimes.nwsource.com\html\businesstechnology\2002002077_nanostring11.html
  2. ^ http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2008/07/14/lee-hoods-proteges-strike-again-nanostring-ships-its-first-commercial-cell-analyzer/
  3. ^ http://www.genomeweb.com/arrays/expression-masses
  4. ^ http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v27/n11/abs/nbt1109-999.html
  5. ^ Geiss, G.K. et al. Direct multiplexed measurement of gene expression with color-coded probe pairs. Nature Biotechnology 26: 317-25 (2008).
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