High-depth spatial transcriptome analysis by photo-isolation chemistry

Shining a light on gene analysis

31 January 2022

A light-based technique that can measure the detailed gene-expression profiles of several dozens of cells is a powerful tool for exploring cells in highly localized areas.

Determining the gene-expression profiles of cells in small regions is vital for exploring the functions of cells and their interactions. While many techniques have been developed for gene-expression profiling, it is difficult to do achieve detailed expression profiling of a small numbers of cells.

Now, eight researchers from Kyushu University in Japan and a collaborator have developed a technique that obtains the gene-expression profiles of just cells that lie within a narrow laser beam.

They demonstrated their method by using it to acquire detailed gene-expression profiles for several dozen cells in small areas in mouse embryos. The technique was capable of obtaining profiles down to subcellular resolutions.

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References

1. Nature Communications 12, 4416 (2021). doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24691-8