Where are signals distributed?
Investigate the distribution of selected expression signals across a tissue section and their relationship to morphological regions.
TISSUE SPACE & MICROENVIRONMENTS
Understand molecular signals in the places they occur.
Tissue structure preserves important biological context. Connecting molecular readouts with section coordinates and morphology offers a spatial view of regional expression, tissue boundaries and local microenvironments.
QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE
Questions for spatial research.
What differs across a boundary?
Compare expression patterns and regional features around tumor margins, anatomical divisions or other regions of interest.
How are local environments organized?
Combine tissue images and molecular information to explore spatial relationships among immune-related signals, tissue structure and other regional features.
THREE ELEMENTS OF SPATIAL RESEARCH
Images, coordinates and molecular information in context.
Tissue morphology
Provides structural context and a basis for defining regions of interest.
Spatial coordinates
Maps molecular readouts from the capture area to their corresponding locations.
Expression information
Supports investigation of regional distributions and expression differences.
STUDY DESIGN
Tissue selection and section design.
- 01
Define regions & samples
Define tissue orientation, regions of interest, comparison groups and replicates in advance to reduce interpretive bias from section selection.
- 02
Match tissue to the capture area
Select a chip layout that fits the tissue shape and regions of interest, and assess feasibility using morphology and RNA quality.
- 03
Coordinate imaging & the assay
Coordinate sample handling, imaging and molecular capture so that spatial analysis remains traceable to the corresponding section.
- 04
Compare regions with context
Interpret expression differences with coordinate mapping, region definitions, data quality and experimental batches in mind, rather than attributing technical variation to biology.
SAMPLES & ANALYSIS
Sample scope and interpretation.
Start with fresh-frozen tissue
The current ZYENRA-spatial v2 workflow is intended for fresh-frozen, OCT-embedded tissue. Pre-fixed and paraffin-embedded incoming samples are not supported. Discuss a pilot study for a tissue type being introduced to the workflow.
From regional association to mechanism
Regional expression, proximity and morphological associations can inform research hypotheses. Proximity does not automatically establish cell interaction or causality; cellular attribution and boundary interpretation depend on the data and analysis method.
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