Bionano Genomics announces three publications on OGM

Bionano Genomics announced the publication of three studies which collectively illustrate the continued development of data supporting the utility of optical genome mapping, OGM, in cell and gene therapy applications. In all three publications, the authors note OGM’s potential to provide a comprehensive landscape of genome structure and to assess genome integrity due to the workflow’s ability to detect structural variants with higher sensitivity and resolution than standard cytogenetic techniques. Key Findings and Takeaways: In a publication from Nino Jesus University Children’s Hospital, researchers analyzed different strategies to improve the efficacy of chimeric antigen receptors in solid tumors. OGM analyzed PB, 45RA and CB CAR-T products after 8 days of culture and compared with T cells from donor samples at day 0 to look for new variants, including aneuploidies; OGM revealed a single event with potential pathogenic implications in one of the analyzed donor sources, as well as additional variants of uncertain significance. The publication from Ruhr-University Bochum covered the use of OGM following gene editing to assess the genome integrity of two CRISPR/Cas9-edited hiPSC lines used for studying Alzheimer’s disease. OGM revealed multiple aberrations that affected a large number of genes but were found to have mild impact on the ability of hiPSCs to develop cerebral organoids. Edited hiPSCs were not found to have major phenotypic changes but one edited cell line showed potential neuroectodermal differentiation impairment. OGM confirmed on-target edits and did not detect off-target edits. The publication from Janssen details research into the Apolipoprotein E genotype, which is the strongest risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. OGM confirmed the absence of off-target effects above 500 bp in the cell lines