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Spatially resolved transcriptomics reveals the architecture of the tumor-microenvironment interface

UID: 10975

Author(s): Moncada, Reuben, Hunter, Miranda V.* * MSK affiliated

Description
Summary from GEO:

"Cancer cells interact with a wide variety of other cell types, but our understanding of microenvironmental heterogeneity and how it influences tumor phenotypes is limited. While single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) has helped define these TME cell types, it provides limited information on the mechanisms that define how individual tumor cells interact with TME. Here, we integrate spatial transcriptomics with scRNA-seq to define the architecture and nature of nascent tumor and surrounding microenvironment cells as they come into contact through the process of invasion. Using a well-defined transgenic zebrafish model of BRAFV600E-driven melanoma, we identify a transcriptionally unique “interface” cluster localized at the boundary between tumor cells and surrounding tissues. Using an unbiased, data-driven approach, we identify spatially-patterned gene modules specific to the interface and show that the interface is a distinct transcriptional entity that histologically resembles the microenvironment but transcriptionally resembles the tumor. By complementing ST with scRNA-seq, we demonstrate that the interface is composed of specialized tumor and microenvironment cells. Both cell types in the interface upregulate a common set of cilia genes, and we find enrichment of cilia proteins only where the tumor meets the TME. Cilia gene expression is regulated by ETS-family transcription factors, which normally act to suppress their expression outside of this region. This unique ETS-driven interface transcriptional state is conserved across ten different human patient samples, suggesting this is a conserved feature of human melanoma. Taken together, our results demonstrate the power of spatial and single-cell transcriptomics techniques in uncovering novel biological mechanisms that drive tumor invasion into new tissues."

Overall design from GEO:

"Spatial transcriptomics (Visium platform) of zebrafish bearing BRAF-V600E driven melanomas. Single-cell RNA-seq (10X Genomics v3) of two such zebrafish. Single-nucleus RNA-seq (10X Genomics v3) of three such zebrafish (pooled into one reaction)."
Subject of Study
Subject(s)
OncoTree Cancer Type(s)
Melanoma
Access via GEO


Accession #: GSE159709

Access via BioProject


Accession #: PRJNA670235

Access via SRA


Accession #: SRP287858

Access Restrictions
Free to All
Access Instructions
The NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus, BioProject, and SRA databases provide open access to these files.
Associated Publications
Equipment Used
Illumina NovaSeq 6000
Dataset Format(s)
CSV, TSV, TIFF, TAR, MTX, H5
Dataset Size
3.8 GB
Data Catalog Record Updated
2023-10-23