Laboratory protocol for the digital multiplexed gene expression analysis of nasopharyngeal swab samples using the NanoString nCounter system.

This paper describes a laboratory protocol to perform the NanoString nCounter Gene Expression Assay from nasopharyngeal swab samples.  It is urgently necessary to identify factors related to severe symptoms of respiratory infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, in order to assess the possibility of e...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: García Aranda, Marilina, López-Rodríguez, Inmaculada, García-Gutiérrez, Susana, Padilla-Ruiz, Maria, de Luque, Vanessa, Hortas, Maria Luisa, Diaz, Tatiana, Álvarez, Martina, Barragan-Mallofret, Isabel, Redondo, Maximino, Research Network on Health Services in Chronic Diseases (Red de Investigación en Servicios Sanitarios y Enfermedades Crónicas, REDISSEC)
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Repositorio:Repisalud
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repisalud.isciii.es:20.500.12105/18595
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12105/18595
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Digital RNA quantification
Immunology
gene expression
nasopharyngeal swab
respiratory infection
Humans
Reproducibility of Results
DNA, Complementary
COVID-19
RNA, Messenger
Nasopharynx
Gene Expression
Descripción
Sumario:This paper describes a laboratory protocol to perform the NanoString nCounter Gene Expression Assay from nasopharyngeal swab samples.  It is urgently necessary to identify factors related to severe symptoms of respiratory infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, in order to assess the possibility of establishing preventive or preliminary therapeutic measures and to plan the services to be provided on hospital admission. At present, the samples recommended for microbiological diagnosis are those taken from the upper and/or the lower respiratory tract.  The NanoString nCounter Gene Expression Assay is a method based on the direct digital detection of mRNA molecules by means of target-specific, colour-coded probe pairs, without the need for mRNA conversion to cDNA by reverse transcription or the amplification of the resulting cDNA by PCR. This platform includes advanced analysis tools that reduce the need for bioinformatics support and also offers reliable sensitivity, reproducibility, technical robustness and utility for clinical application, even in RNA samples of low RNA quality or concentration, such as paraffin-embedded samples. Although the protocols for the analysis of blood or formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples are provided by the manufacturer, no corresponding protocol for the analysis of nasopharyngeal swab samples has yet been established. Therefore, the approach we describe could be adopted to determine the expression of target genes in samples obtained from nasopharyngeal swabs using the nCOUNTER technology.