Spatial Transcriptomics-based Identification of Molecular Markers for Nanomedicine Distribution in Tumor Tissue

The intratumoral accumulation of nanomedicine has been considered a passive process, referred to as the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. Recent studies have suggested that the tumor uptake of nanomedicines follows an energy-dependent pathway rather than being a passive process. Herein, to explore the factor candidates that are associated with nanomedicine tumor uptake, we developed a molecular marker identification platform by integrating microscopic fluorescence images of a nanomedicine distribution with spatial transcriptomics (ST) information. When this approach is applied to PEGylated liposomes, molecular markers related to hypoxia, glucose metabolism and apoptosis can be identified as being related to the intratumoral distribution of the nanomedicine. We expect that our method can be applied to explain the distribution of a wide range of nanomedicines and that the data obtained from this analysis can enhance the precise utilization of nanomedicines.