Immuno-monitoring

OGT has developed a unique protein microarray platform and process enabling the identification of sensitive and specific autoantibody biomarkers. Autoantibodies offer clear advantages as diagnostic biomarkers of disease, including early detection of disease, higher sensitivity and specificity and easy accessibility from blood.

OGT’s immuno-monitoring technology delivers:

• A wide range of sensitive markers
• Early  clinical indicators
• A robust  discovery  platform 
• Easily accessible assay format

A wide range of sensitive markers

OGT’s discovery array has over 1300 proteins including kinases, surface and receptor proteins, cell signalling, transcription, cancer related proteins and known cancer antigens, enriched for cancer and autoimmune proteins. 

The unique BCCP tag technology ensures that only correctly folded, functional and full-length proteins are presented on the array (Figure 1). The tag also provides a single point of attachment which negates the problems of protein unfolding, random orientation and non-specific binding that can occur with other protein attachment methods. The array slide is coated with a hydrogel to reduce non-specific antibody binding – ensuring specific results. The discovery array is an adaptable design which is complemented by in-house capability for generation of additional protein content. 

Figure 1: OGT’s unique functional protein technology conserves the in vivo protein conformation enabling the discovery of autoantibody biomarker panels exhibiting maximum sensitivity and specificity.

Early  clinical indicators

In addition to generating antibodies against foreign molecules, the immune system also produces autoantibodies in response to a large number of pathogenic processes. The appearance of autoantibodies can precede disease symptoms by many years and, due to the inherent amplification of the immune system, they are readily detectable, making them ideal for presymptomatic and early diagnosis of disease.

A robust  discovery  platform

The protein content of the proprietary discovery array is printed in quadruplicate for robust statistical analysis and fewer false calls. The stability of the content and the platform results in exceptionally low coefficient of variation (CV) between arrays – making real biological variation easier to spot. Studies have clearly demonstrated specific serum reactivity to OGT arrayed proteins thereby validating this technique for biomarker discovery. Additional studies have also demonstrated concordance with ELISA tests further validating this technique (Gnjatic et al 2009).

Easily accessible assay format

When evaluating clinically relevant diagnostic tests, it is preferable to use those requiring the least invasive sample collection methods such as peripheral blood collection. As autoantibodies can be readily detected in blood serum, they represent a pertinent source of early diagnostic and presymptomatic biomarkers for a number of pathologies including certain cancers and autoimmune diseases.

References

1. Gnjatic, S. et al. (2009) J. Immunol.Methods 341, 50-58Gnjatic, S. et al. (2009) J. Immunol.Methods 341, 50-58