Search

Chemical modifications, including conjugation of antibodies to DNA tags, can lead to antibody inactivation. For that reason it is important to validate an antibody conjugate before adding to a CODEX panel.The antibody validation protocol is a series of experiments performed according to other protocols that are used to achieve a final judgement on the performance of a given antibody-oligo conjugate. An antibody conjugate should be detectable at high resolution, without need for intensity thresholding, with exposure times less than or equal to 0.5s to be determined valid for inclusion in a CODEX panel.

Anti-PD-1 immunotherapies have transformed cancer treatment, yet the determinants of clinical response are largely unknown. We performed CODEX multiplexed tissue imaging and RNA sequencing on 70 tumor regions from 14 advanced cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) patients enrolled in a clinical trial of pembrolizumab therapy. Clinical response was not associated with the frequency of tumor-infiltrating T cell subsets, but rather with striking differences in the spatial organization and functional immune state of the tumor microenvironment (TME). After treatment, pembrolizumab responders had a localized enrichment of tumor and CD4+ T cells, which coincided with immune activation and cytotoxic PD-1+ CD4+ T cells. In contrast, non-responders had a localized enrichment of Tregs pre- and post-treatment, consistent with a persistently immunosuppressed TME and exhausted PD-1+ CD4+ T cells. Integrating these findings by computing the physical distances between PD-1+ CD4+ T cells, tumor cells, and Tregs revealed a spatial biomarker predictive of pembrolizumab response. Finally, the chemokine CXCL13 was upregulated in tumor cells in responders post-treatment, suggesting that chemoattraction of PD-1+ CD4+ T cells towards tumor cells facilitates a positive outcome. Together, these data show that T cell topography reflects the balance of effector and suppressive activity within the TME and predicts clinical response to PD-1 blockade in CTCL.

CODEX is a technology that uses oligo labeled antibodies, specialized fluorescent probes, and a companion instrument along-side a standard fluorescence microscope to create single-cell resolution fluorescence data across a multitude of parameters within spatial context in a single tissue. CODEX was developed by Yury Goltsev and Nikolay Samusik in the laboratory of Garry Nolan at Stanford. The technology is being commercialized by Akoya Biosciences.

CODEX is a technology that uses oligo labeled antibodies, specialized fluorescent probes, and a companion instrument along-side a standard fluorescence microscope to create single-cell resolution fluorescence data across a multitude of parameters within spatial context in a single tissue. CODEX was developed by Yury Goltsev and Nikolay Samusik in the laboratory of Garry Nolan at Stanford. The technology is being commercialized by Akoya Biosciences.