A 3-dimensional molecular cartography of human cerebral organoids revealed by double-barcoded spatial transcriptomics

Spatially-resolved transcriptomics is revolutionizing our understanding of complex tissues, but their current use for the exploration of a few sections is not representative of their 3-dimensional architecture. In this work we present a low-cost strategy for manufacturing molecularly double-barcoded DNA arrays, enabling large-scale spatially-resolved transcriptomics studies. We applied this technique to spatially resolve gene expression in several human brain organoids, including the reconstruction of a 3-dimensional view from multiple consecutive sections, revealing gene expression divergencies throughout the tissue.