Professor Mats Bemark, Ph.D.‘s lab at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden studies how the immune system responds to mucosal infections, including SARS-CoV-2 and cholera. His research focuses on interrogating these interactions using advanced analytical methods, including flow cytometry and single-cell transcriptomics (scRNA-seq). A key to unlocking the potential of these studies is addressing sample prep challenges, particularly when starting cell numbers are limited.
Curiox Biosystems Marketing & Content Manager Geoffrey Feld, Ph.D. got things started with an introduction to Laminar Wash technology and its common benefits for improving single-cell sequencing sample prep.
Key Points covered in the introductory segment of the webinar:
- The benefits of switching up sample prep with Laminar Wash: maintains cells in their natural state, simplified workflows, automation (00:04:40)
- Working principles behind Laminar Wash technology (00:08:15)
- How Laminar Wash benefits single-cell sequencing studies (00:11:41)
Dr. Bemark's talk focused on:
- The basics of antigen-specific lymphocyte biology (00:20:55)
- The theory and benefits of multiplexing single-cell transcriptomics with proteogenomic antibodies and cell hashing:
- Using CITE-Seq to detect antibody binding in scRNASeq experiments (00:35:14)
- Sample pooling made possible using cell hashing (00:37:08)
- The challenges researchers face with a limited number of cells in a given sample (00:43:48)
- Sample prep strategies for collecting and enriching rare immune cells for single-cell analysis (00:47:17)
- Why proper cell washing is integral to study success (00:49:34)
- How Laminar Wash enabled such studies:
- In a mouse model infection of cholera (00:52:48)
- Severe COVID-19 hospitalization in humans (00:59:44)
- Laminar Wash works for staining very small number of cells with antibodies (01:07:11)
The two speakers also answered several excellent questions from the attendees for the final few minutes.