Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc

New nanopore-based research unlocks insights into disease and longevity

12 April 2024

Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc (LSE: ONT) ("Oxford Nanopore"), the company delivering a new generation of nanopore-based molecular sensing technology, today announces the publication of a breakthrough study unlocking new ways to measure the length of human telomeres - the "DNA caps" at the ends of chromosomes that make up genomes - using nanopore-based sequencing, providing key insights into the correlation between telomeres and age-related disease or predisposition to cancer.

For the first time, in a new publication in the journal Science, a team led by Nobel Prize winner Dr. Carol Greider of UC Santa Cruz was able to measure and profile telomere length by using Oxford Nanopore's precise sequencing technology. Greider believes these regions, and the proteins that bind there, could serve as potential targets for preventive health and drug discovery efforts.  

Over the past 30 years, research by Greider and others has confirmed that short telomeres can lead to degenerative disease, long telomeres predispose one to cancer, and that telomere lengths can vary significantly. However, the detailed mechanism of length regulation has been poorly understood until now. 

As part of this study, the team of scientists examined the individual telomere lengths of 147 people and found the same telomeres were often the shortest or longest. This means that telomeres on specific chromosome ends may be the first to trigger stem-cell failure -offering insight into specific targets for more clinical study and possible drug discovery research. 

This breakthrough research was only made possible because of Oxford Nanopore's unique features, which for the first-time enabled scientists to see long telomere-length reads at ultra-rich, nearly single nucleotide resolution. This capability has led to an increase in telomere-based interest. In November 2023, a team led by Oxford Nanopore and the Karlseder lab at Salk Institute for Biological Studies published a pre-print demonstrating the utility of a new workflow, Telo-seq, to study telomere biology during development, aging and cancer at unprecedented resolution. 

Gordon Sanghera, CEO of Oxford Nanopore, commented:

"Today marks a significant milestone not just for Oxford Nanopore but for the field of genomics. This breakthrough illustrates that what you're missing matters in genomics, showcasing the benefits of richer insights to capture more types of genetic variation and unravel the mysteries of biology. It's also a step towards new healthcare solutions, offering novel avenues for the prevention and treatment of age-related diseases and cancer. We are proud to be at the forefront of this research, empowering scientists worldwide with tools that unlock unprecedented genomic insight."

[ENDS]

For further information, please contact:

Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc

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Teneo (communications adviser to the Company)

Tom Murray, Olivia Peters

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About Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc:

Oxford Nanopore Technologies' goal is to bring the widest benefits to society through enabling the analysis of anything, by anyone, anywhere. The company has developed a new generation of nanopore-based sensing technology that is currently used for real-time, high-performance, accessible, and scalable analysis of DNA and RNA.  The technology is used in more than 120 countries, to understand the biology of humans, plants, animals, bacteria, viruses and environments as well as to understand diseases such as cancer.  Oxford Nanopore's technology also has the potential to provide broad, high impact, rapid insights in a number of areas including healthcare, food and agriculture. 

For more information please visit: www.nanoporetech.com

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