Journal: Alzheimer's Research & Therapy
Article Title: Exploring cellular heterogeneity: single-cell and spatial transcriptomics of Alzheimer's disease brains and iPSC-derived microglia
doi: 10.1186/s13195-025-01944-y
Figure Lengend Snippet: Spatial distribution of microglial activation across cortical layers in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brain. a Immunofluorescence (IF) staining of P2RY12 and Aβ on adjacent Sects. (10 µm interval) from the Middle Temporal Gyrus of an AD donor, aligned to 10X Genomics Visium spatial transcriptomics spots (color-coded) across cortical layers II–VI (Chen et al., ANC, 2022) . High-magnification images show nuclei (DAPI, gray), homeostatic microglia (P2RY12, magenta), and Aβ plaques (blue) in external layers II–III (top) and internal layers IV–VI (bottom). b Quantification of IF-stained P2RY12⁺ cells and Aβ⁺ plaques across cortical layers II–III and IV–VI in AD samples. Bar plots display normalized counts for: Upper Left—P2RY12⁺ cells; Upper Right—Aβ⁺ plaques; Lower Left—P2RY12⁺/Aβ⁺ overlap; Lower Right—P2RY12⁺/Aβ⁻ plaques. Counts were normalized to the total number within layers II–VI. c IF co-staining of Aβ (red) and phosphorylated tau (pTAU, green) in frontal cortex sections with AD pathology (Section A). Nuclei stained with DAPI (blue). Adjacent section (Section B) stained for CD68 (red), a marker of activated microglia. d Quantification of CD68⁺ cells across cortical layers in AD frontal cortex. Graph shows distribution of CD68⁺ and CD68⁻ cells in external versus internal layers
Article Snippet: Further, the Visium SD spatial transcriptomics platform is limited by its resolution, as each capture spot (< 55 μm) often contains transcripts from multiple cells, which is improved from first report (capture > 10,000 transcripts per spot) [ ].
Techniques: Activation Assay, Immunofluorescence, Staining, Marker