Whole-brain spatial transcriptional analysis at cellular resolution.

Abstract

Recent advances in RNA analysis have deepened our understanding of cellular states in biological tissues. However, a substantial gap remains in integrating RNA expression data with spatial context across organs, primarily owing to the challenges associated with RNA detection within intact tissue volumes. Here, we developed Tris buffer-mediated retention of in situ hybridization chain reaction signal in cleared organs (TRISCO), an effective tissue-clearing method designed for whole-brain spatial three-dimensional (3D) RNA imaging. TRISCO resolved several crucial issues, including the preservation of RNA integrity, achieving uniform RNA labeling, and enhancing tissue transparency. We tested TRISCO using a broad range of cell-identity markers, noncoding and activity-dependent RNAs, within diverse organs of varying sizes and species. TRISCO thus emerges as a powerful tool for single-cell, whole-brain, 3D imaging that enables comprehensive transcriptional spatial analysis across the entire brain.