Profiling immune cell tissue niches in the spatial -omics era

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Genomics
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Immune responses depend on intricate spatial coordination between immune cells and their tissue microenvironment.
• Traditional imaging methods offer limited insights into the complex immune landscape.
• Recent spatial -omics technologies provide unprecedented detail on immune cell distribution and tissue context.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review technological and analytical advancements in multiparameter spatial profiling.
• To explore how these methods enhance understanding in translational immunology.
• To propose a framework for defining and characterizing immune niches.

Main Methods:

• High-throughput spatial -omics, particularly spatial transcriptomics.
• Analysis of human samples to map immune cell states and tissue environments.
• Review of multiparameter spatial profiling techniques.

Main Results:

• Spatial -omics technologies enable comprehensive mapping of immune cell states within their tissue locations.
• These methods facilitate investigation into the spatial distribution and functional implications of immune cells.
• New insights into the identification and definition of immune niches are generated.

Conclusions:

• Spatial profiling methodologies are revolutionizing the study of tissue immunity.
• A proposed 3-step framework aids in the definition and characterization of immune niches.
• Spatially resolved analysis of adaptive immune repertoires and lymphocyte expansion is advancing.