Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40887478›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Protocol optimization improves the performance of multiplexed RNA imaging.

Josh J Luce, Christian A Reardon-Lochbaum, Paolo Cadinu, Rosalind J Xu, Jose Aceves-Salvador, Evangelia Semizoglou, Bertrand Wong, Iris Lopez, Alan B Cantor, William Renthal and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Brain-immune interactions generate pathogen-specific sickness states.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
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

11 authors.

Josh J LuceProgram in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Christian A Reardon-LochbaumProgram in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Paolo CadinuProgram in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Rosalind J XuProgram in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Jose Aceves-SalvadorProgram in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Evangelia SemizoglouDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Bertrand WongProgram in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Iris LopezDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Alan B CantorDivision of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital and Dana- Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
William RenthalDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Jeffrey R MoffittProgram in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. jeffrey.moffitt@childrens.harvard.edu.

Funding

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF HUMAN BLOOD CELLST32HL007574 · NHLBI · CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL BOSTON · PI Daniel Evan Bauer · 1985 to 2026
$18.4M
Spatial Core (Moffit)U19NS130617 · NINDS · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI Jeffrey Moffitt · 2022 to 2026
$15.5M
Rapid, Robust, and Routine: Multiplexed Microscopy for Spatially Resolved Whole-Transcriptomic Single-Cell Profiling and the Construction of Cell Atlases of all Tissues and in all OrganismsR01GM143277 · NIGMS · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · PI MOFFITT, JEFFREY · 2021 to 2024
$1.6M
Bone Marrow Spatial Transcriptomics to Enhance In Vitro Platelet ProductionR01HL159106 · NHLBI · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · PI CANTOR, ALAN B. · 2021 to 2023
$1.1M
NHLBI NIH HHS 5T32HL007574NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL159106NHLBI NIH HHS R01HL159106NHLBI NIH HHS T32 HL007574NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM143277NIGMS NIH HHS R01GM143277NINDS NIH HHS U19 NS130617NINDS NIH HHS U19NS130617
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Spatial transcriptomics has emerged as a powerful tool to define the cellular structure of diverse tissues. One such method is multiplexed error robust fluorescence in situ hybridization (MERFISH). MERFISH identifies RNAs with error tolerant optical barcodes generated through sequential rounds of single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization (smFISH). MERFISH performance depends on a variety of protocol choices, yet their effect on performance has yet to be systematically examined. Here we explore a variety of properties to identify optimal choices for probe design, hybridization, buffer storage, and buffer composition. In each case, we introduce protocol modifications that can improve performance, and we show that, collectively, these modified protocols can improve MERFISH quality in both cell culture and tissue samples. As RNA FISH-based methods are used in many different contexts, we anticipate that the optimization experiments we present here may provide empirical design guidance for a broad range of methods.

Indexed as

In Situ Hybridization, FluorescenceRNASingle Molecule ImagingAnimalsHumansRNAFluorescence in situ hybridizationMultiplexed error robust in situ hybridization (MERFISH)RNASpatial transcriptomics

Identifiers

PMID40887478
PMCPMC12399773

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.