Propath is expanding its spatial transcriptomics service portfolio following the announcement of new spatial biology capabilities from Bruker. The developments include a newly available CosMx Mouse Whole Transcriptome (WTX) assay, alongside planned high-plex microRNA and T-cell receptor assays. Together, these additions expand the biological questions that can be studied at single-cell and subcellular resolution.
Propath is now able to offer mouse WTX spatial analysis through its CosMx service and will incorporate the planned microRNA and T-cell receptor capabilities as they become commercially available.
Adding to existing WTX single-cell spatial transcriptomics (scST) services for human genomes, Propath can now support mouse formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded and fresh frozen tissue samples.
The new capability brings whole-transcriptome scST to mouse samples, offering unbiased coverage for deep exploration while retaining the tissue architecture needed to combine deep-cell phenotyping with cell-cell interactions, ligand-receptor analysis, neighbourhood analysis and pathway changes in situ.
For preclinical and translational research teams, this could help connect molecular changes with specific cells, cell niches and tissue regions. Potential applications include studying disease models, treatment response, mechanism of action and changes within the tissue microenvironment.
It may also improve continuity between preclinical and clinical spatial studies. Researchers can now apply a consistent whole-transcriptome spatial approach across mouse models and human tissue, progressing to more targeted, custom signature assays on the same platform.
Bruker has also announced plans for a high-plex spatial microRNA assay at subcellular resolution.
MicroRNAs regulate gene expression after transcription and can influence cell state, differentiation and disease-associated pathways. The planned multi-omics assay is designed to support the joint analysis of microRNA, messenger RNA and protein within the same cell.
This planned capability is expected to enable researchers to examine not only which genes are being expressed, but also post-transcriptional regulation and effector protein expression in a single tissue section, subject to final assay specifications and commercial availability. Maintaining this information within its spatial context may be particularly useful when regulatory activity differs between neighbouring tissue compartments or cell populations.
This capability remains subject to Bruker’s commercial release and subsequent implementation within Propath’s service workflow.
A planned CosMx T-cell receptor (TCR) assay will add spatial information about T-cell receptor variable (V), diversity (D) and joining (J) segment expression alongside whole-transcriptome imaging.
TCR analysis can help researchers investigate the composition and distribution of T-cell populations. Adding spatial context may show where particular T-cell populations are located in relation to tumour cells, immune niches, stromal structures or other features of the tissue microenvironment.
Bruker presented research at the 2026 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting combining spatial T-cell receptor profiling with whole-transcriptome and protein measurements in formalin-fixed tumour tissue. These research findings demonstrate the intended analytical direction of the assay, but the final commercial product may vary in performance.
A critical feature of single-molecule, in situ transcriptomics is cell segmentation: the method used to assign each detected molecule to a cell. To date, scST assays have treated 5 µm tissue sections as two-dimensional, causing a large proportion of transcripts to be assigned from overlapping cells.
Three-dimensional segmentation improves the definition of cell boundaries where cells overlap within the depth of a tissue section. More accurate cell segmentation improves the assignment of detected transcripts to the correct cells.
Together with the only commercially available solution for whole-transcriptome scST for both human and mouse samples, Propath enables best-in-class spatial transcriptomics capabilities and specialist bioinformatics for biopharma.
Propath combines CosMx assays with expert histology, tissue preparation, quality control, study management, spatial bioinformatics, biological interpretation and orthogonal tissue assays including custom Immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridisation, multiplex fluorescence and multi-omics services.
This means the new capabilities can be considered as part of a complete study design, rather than selected solely because they are technically available.
Researchers interested in the newly available mouse whole-transcriptome spatial analysis service, or in the upcoming microRNA and T-cell receptor assays, can contact Propath to discuss sample suitability, study design and expected availability.
