U-M Tech Upgrade Reveals Finer Cell Transcription Detail

Seq-Scope-eXpanded allows researchers to see gene activity within tissue at even higher resolution.

Published on Feb. 28, 2026

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Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed an upgraded version of their Seq-Scope technology, called Seq-Scope-eXpanded (Seq-Scope-X), that can map gene activity within intact tissue at an even higher microscopic resolution. The new method involves embedding tissue in hydrogel and infusing it with water to physically expand the sample, allowing the Seq-Scope technology to capture more precise transcriptome data from different cellular structures like the nucleus and cytoplasm.

Why it matters

The Seq-Scope-X method represents a significant advancement in spatial transcriptomics, enabling researchers to make new discoveries about gene expression and cellular function that were not possible with previous technologies. This level of detailed, high-resolution mapping of the transcriptome within intact tissue samples could lead to breakthroughs in fields like developmental biology, neuroscience, and cancer research.

The details

The original Seq-Scope technology, developed at the University of Michigan in 2021, revolutionized the ability to map gene activity within intact tissue at microscopic resolution. The new Seq-Scope-X method builds on this by physically expanding the tissue samples, allowing the technology to capture even finer details of the transcriptome, including differences between mRNA transcripts in the nucleus versus the cytoplasm of individual cells.

  • The original Seq-Scope technology was developed at the University of Michigan in 2021.
  • The Seq-Scope-X upgrade was recently described in a paper published in Nature Communications in February 2026.

The players

Jun Hee Lee

Professor of Molecular & Integrative Physiology at the University of Michigan Medical School and the lead researcher behind the Seq-Scope and Seq-Scope-X technologies.

Angelo Anacleto

A graduate student in Jun Hee Lee's lab who incorporated chemical tissue expansion methods into the Seq-Scope technology.

Hee-Sun Han

Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who collaborated with Angelo Anacleto on the tissue expansion aspects of Seq-Scope-X.

Hyun Min Kang

Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan School of Public Health who developed the computational methods to analyze the Seq-Scope-X data.

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What they’re saying

“We wondered what we might see if we had even better resolution. But we realized that that is actually physically impossible.”

— Jun Hee Lee, Professor of Molecular & Integrative Physiology (Mirage News)

“We made the tissue bigger and then analyzed it the using our SeqScope methodology. And we were able to show that it is indeed a precisely and accurately captures the transcriptome from the tissue.”

— Jun Hee Lee, Professor of Molecular & Integrative Physiology (Mirage News)

What’s next

The Seq-Scope-X technology is expected to enable new discoveries in fields like developmental biology, neuroscience, and cancer research by providing unprecedented detail on gene expression patterns within intact tissue samples.

The takeaway

The Seq-Scope-X method represents a major advancement in spatial transcriptomics, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in terms of mapping the transcriptome within intact tissue samples. This level of resolution could lead to breakthroughs in our understanding of cellular function and gene regulation.