The National Institute of Biology was proud to host Chika Yokota, PhD, Head of Unit of the In Situ Sequencing National Facility at Stockholm University/SciLifeLab in Sweden and a researcher working on our joint CutCancer Project. Barbara Breznik and Metka Novak presented her the new NIB Biotechnological Hub facility and the ongoing activities at Cancer Biology unit.

Chika also held an interesting lecture on Spatially Resolved Gene Expression Profiling: High-Throughput, Multi-Targeted In Situ Sequencing for Cell Typing in Tissue Sections.

Recent advances in image-based in situ transcriptomics quantification methods have enabled the visualization of the exact location of genes expressed in a tissue. High-throughput, multi-targeted gene expression profiling technique called in situ sequencing (ISS) allows for the localization and quantification of a few hundred transcripts simultaneously with single-cell resolution within a single tissue section per experiment. Developed by Dr. Mats Nilsson, a pioneer in generating gene expression and mutation profiling information in situ, ISS has been successfully demonstrated for various applications. These include mapping molecularly defined cell types, investigating RNA editing, exploring intra-tumor heterogeneity, and profiling immune cells across different tissue types. The presentation also covered recent technological advancements in this technique and compare company-developed instruments for spatial transcriptomics technologies.

We are very proud to say that together with our partners from SU we are reaching one of the CutCancer aims, which is to use novel techniques in spatial biology that allow visualisation of tumour cellular composition as well as cellular and molecular interactions in response to therapeutics and their dosing strategies with regard to their integration in clinical protocols.