Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40694852›Full record

ArticleNucleic acids research2025

Spatial-scERA: a method for reconstructing spatial single-cell enhancer activity in multicellular organisms.

Baptiste Alberti, Séverine Vincent, Isabelle Stévant, Damien Lajoignie, Hélène Tarayre, Juliette Mendes, Sergio Sarnataro, Paul Villoutreix, Yad Ghavi-Helm

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nucleic acids research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Baptiste AlbertiInstitut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, UMR5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Claude Bernard-Lyon 1, 46 allée d'Italie, 69007 Lyon, France.
Séverine VincentInstitut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, UMR5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Claude Bernard-Lyon 1, 46 allée d'Italie, 69007 Lyon, France.
Isabelle StévantInstitut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, UMR5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Claude Bernard-Lyon 1, 46 allée d'Italie, 69007 Lyon, France.
Damien LajoignieInstitut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, UMR5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Claude Bernard-Lyon 1, 46 allée d'Italie, 69007 Lyon, France.
Hélène TarayreInstitut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, UMR5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Claude Bernard-Lyon 1, 46 allée d'Italie, 69007 Lyon, France.
Juliette MendesInstitut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, UMR5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Claude Bernard-Lyon 1, 46 allée d'Italie, 69007 Lyon, France.
Sergio SarnataroInstitut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, UMR5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Claude Bernard-Lyon 1, 46 allée d'Italie, 69007 Lyon, France.
Paul VilloutreixAix-Marseille Université, MMG, Inserm U1251, Turing Centre for Living systems, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005 Marseille, France.
Yad Ghavi-HelmInstitut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, UMR5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Claude Bernard-Lyon 1, 46 allée d'Italie, 69007 Lyon, France.ORCID 0000-0003-2397-9576

Funding

EquipEx+ Spatial-Cell-ID ANR-21-ESRE-00016European Research Council Enhancer3D 759708Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale AJE20161236686Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale SPF201909009228
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Enhancers play an essential role in developmental processes by regulating the spatiotemporal expression of genes. Characterizing their spatiotemporal activity remains however an important challenge. Here we introduce a novel in vivo/in silico method for spatial single-cell enhancer-reporter assays (spatial-scERA) designed to reconstruct the spatial activity of candidate enhancer regions in parallel in multicellular organisms. Spatial-scERA integrates parallel reporter assays with single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial reconstruction using optimal transport, to map cell-type-specific enhancer activity at the single-cell level on a 3D virtual sample. We evaluated spatial-scERA in Drosophila embryos using 25 candidate enhancers, and validated the robustness of our reconstructions by comparing them to in situ hybridization. Remarkably, spatial-scERA faithfully reconstructed the spatial activity of these enhancers, even when the reporter construct was expressed in as few as 10 cells. Our results demonstrate the importance of integrating transcriptomic and spatial data for accurately predicting enhancer activity patterns in complex multicellular samples and linking enhancers to their potential target genes. Overall, spatial-scERA provides a scalable approach to map the spatial activity of enhancers at single-cell resolution without the need for imaging or a priori knowledge of embryology and can be applied to any multicellular organism amenable to transgenesis.

Indexed as

Enhancer Elements, GeneticSingle-Cell AnalysisAnimalsDrosophilaDrosophila melanogasterEmbryo, NonmammalianGene Expression Regulation, DevelopmentalGenes, Reporter

Identifiers

PMID40694852
PMCPMC12282952

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.