CSHL Poster 2023: Investigating the spatial distribution of immune cell subtypes in cancer using MERFISH

Introduction

In situ profiling of cancer tissue facilitates the preservation of spatial context among the various substates of tumor cells, as well as their interactions with the immune system and the surrounding landscape of stroma, fibroblasts, and vasculature. Single-cell resolution and accurate cell identification are critical for researching these relationships. The Vizgen® MERSCOPE® Platform is built on Multiplexed Error-Robust Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (MERFISH) technology and enables the measurement of RNA expression for hundreds of genes with sub-cellular resolution in intact FFPE and frozen tissue sections.1 Here, we use the MERSCOPE Platform with the Predesigned Immuno-oncology Panel* to examine the spatial distribution of immune cell subtypes in a set of 16 human cancer samples. Using our 500-gene panel designed to research cancer type-specific genes, select immune genes, proto-oncogenes, and tumor-suppressor genes, we show that MERFISH can spatially profile the gene expression of multiple cell types across malignant human tumor samples.