Project description:The cellular diversity of stromal compartment within the tumor microenvironment might change dynamically as tumors evolve that allowing distant dissemination of tumor cells and informing the treatment options. Importantly, the localization of cells in tumor microenvironment indicates the biological function of cells. Thus, we used spatial transcriptomic to reveal the cellular landscape and corresponding cellular localization in bladder cancer.
Project description:The skin is recognized as a window into the immunopathogenic mechanisms driving the vast phenotypic spectrum of psoriatic disease. To better decipher the cellular landscape of both healthy and psoriatic skin, we employed spatial transcriptomics (ST), a ground-breaking technology that precisely maps gene expression from histologically-intact tissue sections. Findings gleaned from computationally integrating our 23 matched lesional and non-lesional psoriatic and 7 healthy control samples with publicly-available single cell RNA seq data sets provided insights into the emergent cellular ecosystems at play in psoriatic disease.
Project description:In this study, we comprehensively charted the cellular landscape of colorectal cancer (CRC) and well-matched liver metastatic CRC using single-cell and spatial transcriptome RNA sequencing. We generated 41892 CD45- non-immune cells and 196473 CD45+ immune cells from 27 samples of 6 CRC patients, and found that CD8_CXCL13 and CD4_CXCL13 subsets increased significantly in liver metastatic samples that exhibited high proliferation ability and tumor-activating characterization, contributing to better prognosis of patients. Distinct fibroblast profiles were observed in primary and liver metastatic tumors. The F3+ fibroblasts enriched in primary tumors contributed to worse overall survival by expressing pro-tumor factors. However, the MCAM+ fibroblasts enriched in liver metastatic tumors might promote generation of CD8_CXCL13 cells through Notch signaling. In summary, we extensively analyzed the transcriptional differences of cell atlas between primary and liver metastatic tumors of CRC by single-cell and spatial transcriptome RNA sequencing, providing different dimensions of the development of liver metastasis in CRC
Project description:High-grade gliomas are aggressive primary brain cancers with poor response to standard regimens, driven by immense heterogeneity. In isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) wild-type high-grade glioma (glioblastoma, GBM), increased intra-tumoral heterogeneity is associated with more aggressive disease. Recently, spatial technologies have emerged to dissect this complex heterogeneity within the tumor ecosystem by preserving cellular organization in situ. Here, we construct a high- resolution molecular landscape of GBM and IDH-mutant high-grade glioma patient samples to investigate the cellular subtypes and spatial communities that compose high-grade glioma using digital spatial profiling and spatial molecular imaging. This uncovered striking diversity of the tumor and immune microenvironment, that is embodied by the heterogeneity of the inferred copy- number alterations in the tumor. Reconstructing the tumor architecture revealed brain-intrinsic niches, composed of tumor cells reflecting brain cell types and microglia; and brain-extrinsic niches, populated by mesenchymal tumor cells and monocytes. We further reveal that cellular communication in these niches is underpinned by specific ligand-receptor pairs. This primary study reveals high levels of intra-tumoral heterogeneity in high-grade gliomas, associated with a diverse immune landscape within spatially localized regions.
Project description:Muscle-invasive bladder cancers are characterized by their distinct expression of luminal and basal genes, which could be used to predict key clinical features such as disease progression and overall survival. Transcriptionally, FOXA1, GATA3, and PPARg are shown to be essential for luminal subtype-specific gene regulation and subtype switching, while TP63, STAT3 and TFAP2 family members are critical for regulation of basal subtype-specific genes. Despite these advances, the underlying epigenetic mechanisms and 3D chromatin architecture responsible for subtype-specific regulation in bladder cancer remains unknown. Result: We determine the genome-wide transcriptome, enhancer landscape and transcription factor binding profiles of FOXA1 and GATA3 in luminal and basal subtypes of bladder cancer. Furthermore, we report the first-ever mapping of genome-wide chromatin interactions by Hi-C in both bladder cancer cell lines and primary patient tumors. We show that subtype-specific transcription is accompanied by specific open chromatin and epigenomic marks, at least partially driven by distinct transcription factor binding at distal-enhancers of luminal and basal bladder cancers. Finally, we identify a novel clinically relevant transcription factor, Neuronal PAS Domain Protein 2 (NPAS2), in luminal bladder cancers that regulates other subtype-specific genes and influences cancer cell proliferation and migration. Conclusion: In summary, our work identifies unique epigenomic signatures and 3D genome structures in luminal and basal urinary bladder cancers and suggests a novel link between the circadian transcription factor NPAS2 and a clinical bladder cancer subtype.
Project description:We investigated the landscape of non-communicable inflammatory skin diseases by spatial transcriptomics resulting in a large repository of spatially defined human cutaneous transcriptomes of 31 patients.