Spatial transcriptomic profiling of isolated microregions in tissue sections utilizing laser-induced forward transfer.

ABSTRACT

Profiling gene expression while preserving cell locations aids in the comprehensive understanding of cell fates in multicellular organisms. However, simple and flexible isolation of microregions of interest (mROIs) for spatial transcriptomics is still challenging. We present a laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT)-based method combined with a full-length mRNA-sequencing protocol (LIFT-seq) for profiling region-specific tissues. LIFT-seq demonstrated that mROIs from two adjacent sections could reliably and sensitively detect and display gene expression. In addition, LIFT-seq can identify region-specific mROIs in the mouse cortex and hippocampus. Finally, LIFT-seq identified marker genes in different layers of the cortex with very similar expression patterns. These genes were then validated using in situ hybridization (ISH) results. Therefore, LIFT-seq will be a valuable and efficient technique for profiling the spatial transcriptome in various tissues.