Dr. Cheryl Wellington’s lab recently acquired Canada’s first Alamar ARGO HT System, an advanced, fully automated analyzer designed to detect and quantify biomarkers in biological samples with ultra-high sensitivity.

The analyzer uses a unique method called NULISA, which combines immunoassay techniques with next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. It incorporates DNA tags onto two capture antibodies, which, when bound to the target antigen, are joined together to form a specific barcode that identifies the target and is then quantified using NGS technology. This approach allows the ARGO system to detect incredibly low levels of biomarkers and measure up to 250 different biomarkers simultaneously, making it especially useful for studying various neurological diseases where such sensitivity is crucial for early disease detection. In particular, a specialized panel can be used to detect up to 120 neuro-specific biomarkers linked to inflammation, protein aggregation, and synaptic and neuronal network defects.

The Wellington lab plans to use the Alamar ARGO HT System for several new and ongoing projects. Some of the projects that graduate students in the lab are working on include investigating new biomarkers to detect different types of neurodegenerative associated protein buildup in the brain (especially discovering biomarkers to detect co-pathologies in Alzheimer disease), investigating new biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of sport-related concussion in youth, investigating biomarkers to detect brain injury in survivors of intimate partner violence, and profiling several mouse models of neurological disease to provide new tools to bridge between fundamental and clinical research studies.

The ARGO will complement the Simoa HD analyzer, which was also a first-of-its-kind in Canada when it was originally acquired by Dr. Wellington in 2019. The main functional difference between the ARGO and the Simoa is how they detect proteins. While both systems rely on similar immunoassay principles, the Simoa uses fluorescent tags on antibodies, while the ARGO uses DNA tags followed by sequencing for detection.

The two analyzers will enable the group to answer different types of questions in biomarker research. The ARGO is a discovery-based platform mainly used to investigate new biomarkers for screening, diagnosis and prognosis, with the ability to analyze up to 250 targets at once (however, it currently only provides relative values, not exact concentrations). On the other hand, the Simoa can measure around four protein targets simultaneously and can also quantify specific concentration readouts, making it better suited to assist in clinical validation once key targets have been identified for a specific context of use.

“The ARGO is a game-changer for neuroscience research due to its niche of being a ‘targeted proteomics’ platform,” says Jennifer Cooper, a PhD student in the Wellington lab. “It combines the abilities of high multiplexing and discovery proteomics, with the robustness of automated immuno-analysis and the high sensitivity of DNA sequencing.”

The multi-capture DNA tag detection technology provides the high sensitivity required for the detection of low-abundance proteins from the brain, which are difficult to measure in the blood. Beyond neuroscience, the ARGO has a 250-plex immunology panel that could be relevant to different research areas such as cancer, infectious diseases and immunology.

“We are excited by the vast potential that the ARGO brings to our research, allowing us to explore new frontiers in biomarker discovery,” says Dr. Wellington. “We are eager to use this new technology in a wide range of upcoming projects in our lab and are always looking for new collaborators.”

Fun fact: Not only is Dr. Wellington’s lab the first laboratory in Canada to get an ARGO HT system, they are one of the first 50 laboratories internationally. Because of this, they have become members of Alamar’s ARGOnaut club. For these first 50 instruments, Alamar is naming all of the ARGOs after the 50 Argonauts from the Greek mythology who travelled with Jason to discover the golden fleece. The Wellington instrument is to be named after Asclepius, a hero and demigod who became the god of medicine, and who carried a serpent-entwined rod that is now regularly used as a symbol of medicine.