The nanoString nCounter platform
Why we use it
• The nCounter technology is a simple, efficient, and cost-effective method to multiplex up to 850 targets of RNA or proteins
Equipment
• A nanoString nCounter Sprint Profiler
Applications in Molecular Psychiatry
• mRNA, microRNA, or protein profiling in blood, cerebrospinal fluid, saliva, brain and peripheral tissue from rodents, pigs, and humans. The panels we use are either predefined or custommade.
This method has been superior in identifying dysregulated microRNAs in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded brain tissue collected from psychiatric patients and stored for more than 43 years. We also use it for biomarker studies in our rodent models and human samples.
References
Højgaard K, Szöllősi B, Henningsen K, Minami N, Nakanishi N, Kaadt E, Tamura M, Morris R, Takeuchi T, Elfving B. Novelty-induced memory consolidation is accompanied by increased Agap3 transcription: a cross-species study. Molecular Brain 2023. 16(1):69. Doi: 10.1186/s13041-023-01056-4.
Johannessen K, Braný D, Dvorská D, Krivošová M, Oppa M, Ondrejka I, Strnádel J, Ferencová N, Tonhajzerová I, Danková Z, Halašová E, Mokrý J, Elfving B. Dysregulated miR-1246 and miR-1253 link inflammatory protein markers in plasma to major depressive disorder in female adolescents. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity – Health 2025 49:101108. doi: 10.1016/j.bbih.2025.101108.
Søkilde R, Kaadt E, Kristensen LS, Venø MT, Kjems J, Nyengaard JR, Nielsen BS, Elfving B. Application of microRNA In Situ Hybridization on Long-term Stored Human Formalin-fixed Paraffin-embedded Brain Samples from Psychiatric Patients. Molecular Neurobiology 2025 Oct;62(10):12736-12746. doi: 10.1007/s12035-025-05077-z.
Kaadt E, Søkilde R, Garling HD, Raval N, Lundgaard L, Just J, Knudsen GM, Elfving B. Psilocybin-associated microRNA changes in the pig brain: Establishing an nCounter pipeline for cross-species microRNA quantification. European Journal of Pharmcology 2026 Sep 10:1032:179222. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2026.179222.
