Spatial biology encompasses different levels of cellular resolution including (1) subcellular localization of DNA, RNA, and proteins, (2) single-cell resolution and in situ communications like cell-cell interactions and cell signaling, (3) cellular neighborhoods, regions, or microenvironments, and (4) tissue architecture and organization in organs.
[1] Spatial method for RNA in situ detection is first described in a 1969 landmark paper[2] by Joseph G. Gall and Mary-Lou Pardue.
[5] Immunohistochemistry-based spatial proteomic methods include oligo barcoded antibodies, cyclic immunofluorescence (cycIF), co-detection by indexing (CODEX), iterative bleaching extends multiplicity (IBEX), multiplexed ion beam imaging (MIBI) and imaging mass cytometry (IMC).
[6] Other methods includes deep visual proteomics that profile protein expression in single cells by laser capture microdissection and mass spectroscopy.
The term "spatial medicine" is recently coined by Eric Topol to refer to a study that used deep visual proteomics to find a therapeutic treatment for patients with a rare skin condition.