Spatial landscape of end-stage organ damage and allograft injury

Long-term graft survival after transplantation depends on detecting and understanding immunological injury before it becomes irreversible. Histopathology remains the diagnostic gold standard, but it depends on adequately sampled tissue and on injury patterns that are often subtle, heterogeneous, and specific to each organ and clinical context. These limitations leave a gap between what a biopsy can show and what is actually happening at the molecular level within the graft.Spatial transcriptomics is changing that. By preserving the tissue’s native architecture while profiling gene expression at regional or single-cell resolution, it allows researchers to visualize the molecular circuits driving cell function and cell-cell interaction at the precise site of injury. This bridges a longstanding gap between traditional histology and the underlying biology of rejection, fibrosis, and end-stage organ damage.This Research Topic invites original research, methods papers, and reviews applying regional or single-cell spatial transcriptomics to native and allograft tissue across solid organ transplantation. We welcome studies addressing, but not limited to:• Spatial mapping of immune cell composition and activity in rejecting versus stable allografts• Molecular circuits and cell-cell interaction networks underlying acute and chronic rejection• Comparative spatial profiling across organ types (kidney, liver, lung, heart, intestine)• Integration of spatial transcriptomic findings with conventional histopathology to improve diagnostic precision• Novel analytic and computational approaches for interpreting spatial transcriptomic data in a transplant context• Identification of injury pathways and molecular targets that could inform more precise immunosuppressive strategiesThe goal of this collection is to move beyond a purely descriptive use of spatial technologies toward defining the injury pathways and therapeutic targets that could genuinely change how allograft health is monitored and managed. Seven decades into the history of solid organ transplantation, the tools available to protect grafts without compromising the recipient’s health remain limited. We hope this Research Topic contributes evidence that helps close that gap. Topic editors: Rakesh Kumar Sindhi, Shankar Subramaniam Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/86381/spatial-landscape-of-end-stage-organ-damage-and-allograft-injury