The ability to localize hundreds of macromolecules to discrete locations, structures and cell types in a tissue is a powerful approach to understand the cellular and spatial organization of an organ. Spatially resolved transcriptomic technologies enable mapping of transcripts at single-cell or near single-cell resolution in a multiplex manner. The rapid development of spatial transcriptomic technologies has accelerated the pace of discovery in several fields, including nephrology. Its application to preclinical models and human samples has provided spatial information about new cell types discovered by single-cell sequencing and new insights into the cell–cell interactions within neighbourhoods, and has improved our understanding of the changes that occur in response to injury. Integration of spatial transcriptomic technologies with other omics methods, such as proteomics and spatial epigenetics, will further facilitate the generation of comprehensive molecular atlases, and provide insights into the dynamic relationships of molecular components in homeostasis and disease. This Review provides an overview of current and emerging spatial transcriptomic methods, their applications and remaining challenges for the field.

将数百个大分子定位到组织中离散位置、结构和细胞类型的能力是了解器官的细胞和空间组织的强大方法。空间分辨转录组技术能够以多重方式以单细胞或接近单细胞分辨率绘制转录本。空间转录组技术的快速发展加快了包括肾脏病学在内的多个领域的发现步伐。其在临床前模型和人类样本中的应用提供了有关单细胞测序发现的新细胞类型的空间信息，以及对邻域内细胞间相互作用的新见解，并提高了我们对损伤反应所发生的变化的理解。空间转录组学技术与其他组学方法（例如蛋白质组学和空间表观遗传学）的整合将进一步促进综合分子图谱的生成，并提供对稳态和疾病中分子成分动态关系的见解。本综述概述了当前和新兴的空间转录组学方法、其应用以及该领域仍面临的挑战。