The work was led by a team at the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. In the work, researchers use the segmentation capability of GeoMx technology to subdivide regions within tumors into distinct immune and tumor compartments. The compartments were then interrogated using the GeoMx Whole Transcriptome Atlas.

The high-plex spatial profiling allowed researchers to observe a negative correlation between oncogenic and immune responses. This may lead to the development of novel immunotherapies for synovial sarcomas.

"We're proud to highlight the first peer reviewed publication demonstrating the unique capabilities of our GeoMx whole transcriptome atlas [WTA] for spatial analysis," said Brad Gray, president and chief executive officer of NanoString. "The launch of our WTA assay will expand our spatial portfolio beyond focused panels, opening up vast new opportunities in biological research."