Emerging technologies in the spatial proteomics landscape

Spatial proteomics has rapidly advanced the ability to measure protein expression, localization, and tissue organization directly within intact biological specimens. Unlike bulk proteomics or transcript-centered approaches, spatial protein imaging can capture cell-to-cell heterogeneity, local signaling states, and multicellular tissue structure while preserving histologic context. This review examines the major technology classes shaping the field, with primary emphasis on multiplexed in situ protein imaging. We discuss region-of-interest digital spatial profiling, mass spectrometry-based spatial proteomics, iterative immunofluorescence, and signal amplification strategies, and compare their major strengths and limitations in the context of sensitivity, multiplexing capacity, spatial resolution, sample throughput, and tissue compatibility. Particular attention is given to how different signal-reset and amplification designs have expanded fluorescence-based imaging beyond the limits of conventional low-plex immunostaining. We also summarize major biological applications in cancer, immunology, and neurology, where spatial proteomics has enabled the identification of tissue architecture, cellular neighborhoods, and disease-associated protein states that are difficult to resolve by nonspatial methods. Finally, we outline the principal limitations and future directions shaping the field, including incomplete proteome coverage, multimodal spatial integration, image-analysis challenges, assay reproducibility, and translation into standardized biological and clinical workflows. Overall, multiplexed in situ protein imaging is becoming an increasingly important framework for linking molecular state to tissue organization in both biological research and translational pathology.