Journal: bioRxiv
Article Title: High resolution spatial profiling of the hematopoietic landscape of the murine lung
doi: 10.1101/2025.09.25.678618
Figure Lengend Snippet: A) A dot plot showing relative enrichment and depletion of 11 representative types of ligand/receptor signaling between cell types within our samples, derived from a table of spatial cell-cell communication scores. The size of the dots reflects the significance, while the color represents relative fold change of observed interactions compared to a hypothetical null distribution over 1000 iterations. B) An overview of a subsection of tissue from sample B, displaying representative zoomed views of several types of L/R signaling, showcasing the capabilities of MERSCOPE to resolve each respective transcript at sub-cellular resolution. (C) Bmp4–Bmpr2 (BMP signaling): Bmpr2 receptors (white) were abundant in CAP2 endothelial, AT1/AT2 epithelial, pericytes, and venous endothelial cells, while Bmp4 ligands (yellow) were less frequent but present in AT1/AT2, AF2 fibroblasts, ILCs, and ciliated cells. Occasional junctions, such as AF2–epithelial boundaries, demonstrated potential stromal-to-epithelial signaling. (D) Vegfa–Flt1 (angiogenesis): Vegfa ligands (red) were observed around ciliated/deuterosomal cells and within AT1/AT2 epithelium, fibroblasts (AF1/AF2), mesothelial cells, and CAP1/EPC endothelium. Flt1 receptors (green) were most prominent in AT1/AT2 and AF2 fibroblasts, with additional expression in mesothelial and endothelial subsets. Ligand and receptor co-localization in AT1/AT2 and AF2 suggests autocrine signaling, while complementary expression at epithelial–endothelial junctions supports paracrine communication. (E) Col1a1–Itga1 (matrix–integrin interactions): Col1a1 ligands (pink) were abundant in AF2 fibroblasts, SCMFs, and immune subsets (ILCs, cDC1, cDC2), whereas Itga1 receptors (orange) localized mainly to pericytes, VSMCs, and AT1/AT2 epithelium. Overlaps occurred at fibroblast–immune and epithelial–pericyte interfaces, suggesting collagen-mediated matrix–integrin signaling across stromal–epithelial and stromal–vascular boundaries. Together, these images highlight spatially resolved ligand–receptor cross-talk across stromal, epithelial, endothelial, and immune compartments of the lung.
Article Snippet: Cell boundaries were stained using the MERSCOPE Cell Boundary Stain Kit (Vizgen, Cat. 10400118).
Techniques: Derivative Assay, Expressing
