Newly Introduced Instrument Boasts Automated Dual-Stain Technique for miRNA and Protein Detection in the Same Tissue Sample

A major producer of advanced laboratory instrumentation has introduced a first-of-its-kind fully automated staining platform that allows biotech and other life science researchers to examine miRNAs and their associated proteins together in the same tissue sample.

Use of the Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (Tucson, AZ, USA) DISCOVERY ULTRA instrument will be especially valuable for cancer researchers who now will be able visualize the association of oncogenic protein expression to those miRNAs involved in the regulation of the mRNA species responsible for protein production.


Ventana maintains that the DISCOVERY ULTRA will be the solution for investigators who demand more than what conventional immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH) research methods have to offer. The instrument is adaptable to a broad array of tissue testing capabilities from detecting low-expressing biomarkers to enabling the highest level of experimental complexity.

In contrast to traditional enzymatic retrieval, which is the current industry standard for miRNA in situ hybridization, DISCOVERY ULTRA employs a new technique based on nonenzymatic pretreatments, enabling the detection of both types of molecular target while preserving tissue morphology. Applications are fully automated, allowing for greater reproducibility of target detection.

Dr. Thomas Grogan, founder of Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (now a subsidiary of Roche (Basel, Switzerland)), said, "With this exciting technical breakthrough, we can now judge with a standard light microscope the link between miRNA and associated proteins in full cellular context. It will now reveal matters like message/protein dysfunction and heterogeneity. This then will add greatly to our understanding of the mechanisms of cancer biology and help direct new better informed targeted therapies."

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Ventana Medical Systems, Inc.
Roche