Spacial transcriptomic analysis of renal biopsy specimens from patients with thrombotic microangiopathy

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K20908
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0903:Organ-based internal medicine and related fields
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University
• Principal Investigator: Iwasaki Sari 北海道大学, 医学研究院, 助教 (60455631)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-08-31 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 血栓性微小血管症 / 空間的トランスクリプトーム / 腎生検

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We performed spatial transcriptome analysis on renal biopsy tissue from cases of thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) of various etiologies by using GeoMx platform.
First, 11 specimens were selected for preliminary experiments. Special slides with renal biopsy tissues were fluorescently stained, and the glomeruli were set as the regions of interest. Gene expression profiles obtained for each region of interest were quality-checked, normalized, and divided into two groups for cluster analysis, etc., to confirm that the data could be analyzed. Next, 2-3 cases each of (1) post-HSCT TMA, (2) drug-induced TMA, (3) collagen disease-related TMA, and (4) negative control among pathological TMA were selected for GeoMx. The obtained gene expression data are currently being analyzed.

Free Research Field

Renal pathology

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では、様々な病因で発症する血栓性微小血管症（thrombotic microangiopathy: TMA）の症例について、腎生検組織を用いて、空間的transcriptome解析を行った。予備実験では、IgA腎症と非IgA腎症群とで、遺伝子発現profileに差異があることが見出され、異なるパスウェイが関与していることがわかった。現在、TMA症例についても同様の解析を進めている。本研究により、もし背景疾患によって、TMA組織の内皮細胞における遺伝子発現profileに差異が見出されるとすると、特異的な診断法や治療法の開発に大きく役立つことが期待されている。