CLEAR” technology can revolutionize protein imaging & facilitate detection of Cancer and Neurobiological Diseases

New Delhi ( The Indian View bureau) :

A novel imaging platform called Cleavable Light-Erased Antibody Reporter (CLEAR) could help researchers visualize an unprecedented number of proteins within the same biological sample using just a single fluorescent marker.

This could unveil new possibilities for high-resolution, multiplexed imaging across cells and tissues, with important implications for disease diagnosis and biological research.

Proteins are the primary orchestrators of biological function and remain the principal targets for therapeutic intervention, as well as key markers for disease diagnosis. A comprehensive proteomic map of a tissue sample—capturing the identity and precise spatial organisation of every protein within its native context could help pathologists in diagnosing cancers or understanding complex neurological disorders. However, mapping a large number of proteins within their native spatial context has remained a major challenge.

In order to overcome this challenge, researchers at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) developed the imaging platform CLEAR that can enable scientists to visualize a large number of proteins within the same biological sample using a single fluorophore.

The newly developed method published in the journal Chemical Science (Royal Society of Chemistry), works like a chalkboard – the things written can be erased to make room for new writing. The method, enables scientists to label proteins of interest within cells using cleavable fluorescent tags.

After acquiring the images of a set of proteins under a microscope, a gentle pulse of 365 nm LED light is applied to erase the fluorescent signal, allowing a new set of proteins to be labelled in the same cell and to be imaged in the same optical window. By iteratively repeating this cycle, increasingly detailed and information-rich maps of multiple proteins can be generated across specimens, ranging from single cells to complex tissue sections.

CLEAR has the potential to transform biomedical research and clinical diagnostics by enabling detailed mapping of proteins in cells and tissues. This can improve early disease detection, especially in cancer and neurological disorders, and aid in understanding immune responses.

In the long term, the technology could contribute to precision medicine by providing comprehensive molecular insights that guide targeted therapies. The technology aligns with global efforts toward spatial proteomics and precision medicine.