A new era of cellular understanding is here

Moleculent is pioneering functional profiling, bringing cell-cell communication within reach of direct study and opening new possibilities for understanding disease.

Researcher discussing functional profiling data
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See cells talk

A new layer of biology comes into view

Knowing which cells are present in a tissue is one thing. Understanding how they interact is another. Moleculent’s functional profiling technology, the Glimt platform, detects receptor–ligand interactions in intact tissue, connecting molecular engagement to the identity and spatial organization of the cells involved. This opens up new ways to explore how cells communicate across different populations and tissue regions.

Why function matters

From molecular detail to networks of communication

Cell-cell communication is essential to how tissues function, coordinating processes that maintain health and respond to disease. Cancer immunotherapy illustrates why understanding these interactions requires more than measuring protein expression. Patients with similar PD-L1 expression can respond very differently to checkpoint therapy, because expression alone cannot establish whether PD-1 and PD-L1 are interacting in the tissue. Measuring their engagement adds a functional perspective to the study of immune responses.

PD-1–PD-L1 is just one of many interactions worth investigating. Moleculent’s ambition is to extend functional profiling across every major human organ and biological pathway.

Cell-cell communication in cancer tissue

Explore how functional profiling captures cell-cell communication within its cellular and spatial context.

Immune regulation in lung cancer data 100 µm
CD20B cells CD3eT cells CD4Helper T cells HLADRAntigen-presenting cells PanCKEpithelial cells FOXP3Regulatory T cells NucleiAll cells

Immune regulation in lung cancer

Within a tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) in lung cancer tissue, Glimt detects CTLA4::CD86 engagement alongside TCRB::MHCII interactions, both concentrated in the T-cell zone.

This reveals where an inhibitory checkpoint interaction occurs in relation to antigen recognition, rather than relying on protein expression alone. Their spatial distribution provides a new basis for investigating checkpoint regulation within TLS and comparing patterns of molecular engagement across tumors.

Immune activity around melanoma data 500 µm
CD8Cytotoxic T cells CD4Helper T cells CD3eT cells MLANATumor cells NucleiAll cells

Immune activity around melanoma

In this melanoma tissue, Glimt detects CD8a::MHCI, TCRB::MHCII, and CD70::CD27 interactions concentrated largely outside the MLANA-positive tumor mass, revealing molecular engagement at the tumor boundary rather than throughout the tumor.

This spatial pattern offers a new way to investigate why immune interactions may be abundant around a tumor yet limited within it, with implications for understanding resistance to immunotherapy.

Urothelial cancer beyond expression data 250 µm
CD4Helper T cells HLADRAntigen-presenting cells CD3eT cells PanCKEpithelial cells CD20B cells NucleiAll cells

Urothelial cancer beyond expression

Within two tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) embedded in urothelial cancer tissue, Glimt detects PD1::PDL1 engagement alongside interactions associated with antigen recognition and T-cell costimulation.

Seeing where this inhibitory checkpoint interaction occurs provides information beyond PD-L1 expression alone, opening new possibilities for investigating how local checkpoint regulation differs across tumors and relates to immunotherapy response.

The Glimt platform

An intuitive way to take on complex questions

The Glimt platform brings the elements of functional profiling together in one integrated system. Combining a ready-to-use panel, an instrument with an automated workflow, and intuitive data exploration, the platform is designed for ease of use, accuracy, and high reproducibility, with the capacity to profile tens to hundreds of molecular interactions and cell markers.

Instrument
Automated analysis in intact tissue

The Glimt instrument performs the on-slide workflow in intact tissue, detecting receptor–ligand interactions while retaining cellular and spatial context. Dedicated technical support from Moleculent provides expertise throughout the process.

Panel
Target the interactions that matter

Glimt panels combine receptor–ligand pairs with cell identity markers, enabling the study of molecular interactions across different cell populations. New panels are in development to expand the platform into additional disease areas.

Data
From interactions to biological insight

Our intuitive data interface allows researchers to examine molecular engagement in relation to cell identity and tissue organization, making complex interaction data accessible for biological interpretation.

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