Skip to content

Xenium RNA+Protein — 10x Genomics

10x's in-situ multiomics expansion of the Xenium platform: 500-plex RNA co-registered with 28-plex protein, commercial mid-2026.

At a glance

What's new vs prior generation

Xenium RNA+Protein adds an antibody-based protein channel co-registered with the existing Xenium in-situ RNA workflow. The 500-plex RNA target list is consistent with current Xenium 5K-class panels (subset selection), and the 28-plex protein channel is the first time 10x has shipped joint RNA+protein on Xenium hardware rather than requiring serial sections. Positioned to close the gap to CosMx / MERSCOPE proteomics roadmaps.

Headline benchmarks

500-plex RNA + 28-plex protein, commercial mid-2026 (vendor PR — no independent benchmark) — GenomeWeb, Feb 2026.

Detection efficiency, signal-to-noise for joint RNA+protein, and head-to-head comparisons to CosMx 6K / MERSCOPE Ultra not yet in public coverage — TBD pending independent benchmarks.

Reception / competitive context

GenomeWeb's AGBT spatial roundup (Feb 2026) places Xenium RNA+Protein as 10x's defensive answer to Bruker CosMx mouse-whole-transcriptome + 64-protein and Vizgen MERSCOPE Ultra. 10x's Q1 2026 earnings tie-in frames Xenium RNA+Protein and Atera as the two-pronged spatial refresh for 2026.

  • Existing 10x line: Visium HD, Xenium v1 (5K panels).
  • Downstream Bioconductor stack: SpatialData, SOSTA, SpatialFDA.
  • Sibling 10x launch: Atera (10x) — formal launch deferred to AACR April 2026.
  • AACR 2026 cross-vault: spatial-omics poster heuristics flag "Xenium" / "in situ" searches; most AACR 2026 (April) data still uses Xenium v1, but late-breaking abstracts may flag the RNA+Protein upgrade.

Sources