Spatial transcriptomic profiling of bronchioles using GeoMx DSP

Bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) is a severe, fibrotic manifestation of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Macrophage-derived TGF-ß is linked to GVHD-related fibrosis; however, its role in BO remains unclear. Given emerging evidence of macrophage-to-myofibroblast transition (MMT) in fibrosis, this study aimed to investigate whether MMT contributes to BO development. We analyzed lung samples from three HSCT recipients with BO who underwent lung transplantation, with tissues from two patients with lung cancer as controls. Spatial transcriptomics was performed to profile gene expression in foamy macrophages across anatomical regions and histological stages, compared to control peribronchiolar regions. Overall design: Spatial transcriptomic profiling of bronchioles using GeoMx DSP