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Ultra-sensitive Immune Profiling of Autoimmune Diseases with 200-Plex NULISAseq™ Inflammation Panel – HW Inflammasome 2023

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  • November 28, 2023
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Abstract

Cytokines and chemokines are critical components of the immune system and play important roles in autoimmune diseases. Comprehensive profiling of proteins in blood can provide deeper insights into the mechanisms underlying this highly complex and heterogeneous group of diseases. However, many of these proteins are present at very low concentrations in plasma, below the limit of detection of current immunoassays. We recently developed a novel automated multiplex immunoassay technology, NULISA™, capable of attomolar-level sensitivity, and a 200-plex inflammation-focused panel targeting 124 cytokines/chemokines and 80 other important inflammation and immune response-related proteins. We analyzed 21 plasma samples from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n=5), Sjögren’s syndrome (n=5), systemic lupus erythematosus (n=5), and ulcerative colitis (n=6), and 79 healthy donor samples using the 200-plex NULISAseq™ Inflammation Panel and the Olink Explore 384 Inflammation assay. Differential expression analysis using linear models identified 114 (56%) and 94 (26%) significant targets at a 5% false discovery rate in the NULISAseq and Olink Explore datasets, respectively. Among the 92 targets shared between these two platforms, 54 and 43 significant targets were identified by NULISAseq and Olink, respectively, with 36 in common. Many of the targets identified only by NULISAseq were low-abundance targets that were poorly detected by the Olink assay (IL4, IL5, IL20, IL17A, IL17F, IL33, and IL2RB) but have important roles in autoimmune diseases. In summary, with improved sensitivity and the most comprehensive inflammatory cytokine/chemokine panel, NULISA promises to be a powerful discovery tool for autoimmune disease research, which may lead to new diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

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Steve Williams, MD, PhD

CSO

Dr. Willams serves as the company’s Chief Scientific Officer. He was previously Chief Medical Officer at Standard Biotools and at SomaLogic where he pioneered the discipline for discovery and validation of predictive, diagnostic and prognostic models using machine-learning applied to large-plex proteomics. 20 such tests were used for drug characterization, safety and efficacy when incorporated in clinical drug trials at Pharma/Biotech and 17 different multivariate tests were validated and translated into regulated healthcare uses. Prior to SomaLogic, Dr. Williams was at Pfizer in the UK and the USA as a clinical triallist in Translational Medicine, and subsequently as VP, Global Clinical Technology. He sat on the National Advisory Council for the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the Executive Committee for the FNIH Biomarkers Consortium, and worked with FDA and PhRMA on developing evidentiary standards for biomarker qualification. Dr. William’s medical training was in London, at Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, followed by a PhD in medicine/physiology at the same institution and training in Radiology at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. Steve is co-inventor on 26 proteomics patents and author/coauthor on multiple foundational proteomics manuscripts.

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Justin McAnear

CFO

Mr. McAnear serves as the company’s Chief Financial Officer. He brings over 25 years of operational and financial leadership experience across various sectors and was instrumental in taking 10x Genomics public in 2019, serving as its CFO for over five years. Mr. McAnear served for over 3 years as Tesla’s VP of Worldwide Finance and Operations, supporting landmark initiatives such as the Model X and Model 3 launches and Solar City acquisition.  He also held various roles at Apple and J&J earlier in his career and served as a naval officer and aviator for over 9 years.