# TOPIC 382 - INTEGRATED IMAGING AND MOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF GLIOBLASTOMA USING SCOPE SEQ ON THE AIR FLOW

> **NIH NIH N01** · CELL MICROSYSTEMS, INC. · 2021 · $1,997,803

## Abstract

Clinical research is incorporating single cell analysis methods into various evaluations. During 75N91019C00029 (Phase I) of this proposed program, we intended to validate the performance of a novel single cell transcriptomic (i.e. sc-RNA-Seq) sample preparation platform which integrates imaging into the overall workflow. SCOPE-Seq on the AIR FLOW System will link imaging data to sc-RNA-Seq data on a cell by-cell basis allowing clinical outcomes such as resection margins and therapeutic success to be linked to a cell’s transcriptomic profile. Here, we will acquire primary biopsy samples from glioblastoma patients undergoing surgical resection during a clinical evaluation of dyes used in fluorescent-guided surgery. One of the dyes, 5-ALA, has been reported to preferentially label tumor cells over non-disease subpopulations. Patient-derived cells will be processed on Cell Microsystems' AIR FLOW System using the novel Single Cell Optical Phenotyping and Expression Sequencing (SCOPESeq) method. Using SCOPE-Seq’s optical barcoding methods on the automated AIR FLOW System, we will link the imaging data (e.g. 5-ALA positive vs. negative) with sc-RNA-Seq data on a cell-by-cell basis. While not part of the research endpoints, the resulting data set is intended to determine tumor-cell staining specificity of dyes while using sc-RNA-Seq analysis to reveal cellular subpopulations with high resolution. The goal of the program is to examine clinically derived glioma cells for presence of the fluorescent dye 5-ALA which is used as a visual guide during tumor resection. The AIR FLOW System will be used to determine which cells are 5-ALA positive and which exhibit transcriptomic properties of glioma cells as a means of testing the sensitivity and specificity of 5-ALA as a visual guide during surgery. The proposal also seeks to validate the use of the CITE-Seq/TotalSeq workflow, a means of using oligo-tagged antibodies for protein quantification using next generation sequencing, in the overall glioma phenotyping assay.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10491505
- **Project number:** 75N91021C00005-0-9999-1
- **Recipient organization:** CELL MICROSYSTEMS, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** STEVE GEBHART
- **Activity code:** N01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,997,803
- **Award type:** —
- **Project period:** 2021-01-22 → 2023-01-21

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10491505

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10491505, TOPIC 382 - INTEGRATED IMAGING AND MOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF GLIOBLASTOMA USING SCOPE SEQ ON THE AIR FLOW (75N91021C00005-0-9999-1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10491505. Licensed CC0.

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