Application of spatial transcriptome technologies to neurological diseases

Dongshan Ya; Yingmei Zhang; Qi Cui; Yanlin Jiang; Jiaxin Yang; Ning Tian; Wenjing Xiang; Xiaohui Lin; Qinghua Li; Rujia Liao

doi:10.3389/fcell.2023.1142923

Application of spatial transcriptome technologies to neurological diseases

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2023 Mar 3:11:1142923. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1142923. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Dongshan Ya^{1

2}, Yingmei Zhang^{1

2}, Qi Cui^{1

2}, Yanlin Jiang³, Jiaxin Yang^{1

2}, Ning Tian^{1

4}, Wenjing Xiang⁵, Xiaohui Lin⁶, Qinghua Li^{1

2

4}, Rujia Liao^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Neuroscience, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China.
² Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China.
³ Department of Pharmacology, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China.
⁴ Guangxi Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China.
⁵ Department of Neurology ward 2, Guilin People's Hospital, Guilin, China.
⁶ Department of Geriatrics, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China.

Abstract

Spatial transcriptome technology acquires gene expression profiles while retaining spatial location information, it displays the gene expression properties of cells in situ. Through the investigation of cell heterogeneity, microenvironment, function, and cellular interactions, spatial transcriptome technology can deeply explore the pathogenic mechanisms of cell-type-specific responses and spatial localization in neurological diseases. The present article overviews spatial transcriptome technologies based on microdissection, in situ hybridization, in situ sequencing, in situ capture, and live cell labeling. Each technology is described along with its methods, detection throughput, spatial resolution, benefits, and drawbacks. Furthermore, their applications in neurodegenerative disease, neuropsychiatric illness, stroke and epilepsy are outlined. This information can be used to understand disease mechanisms, pick therapeutic targets, and establish biomarkers.

Keywords: epilepsy; neurodegenerative disease; neuropsychiatric illness; spatial transcriptome; stroke.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Grant Number 82204376 (to RL) from National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Fund of the Guangxi Natural Science Foundation (Grant Number 2020GXNSFAA259036 for RL), and the Guangxi Science and Technology Project (Grant Number Guike AD171290015 for QL), and the Fund of Guangxi Research and Innovation Base for Basic and Clinical Application of Nerve Injury and Repair Project (Grant Number Guike ZY21195042 for QL). Partial financial support was received from the Innovation Projects of Guangxi Graduate Education (YCSW2021246 for XZZ and YCSW2021254 for WX).