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Lucchini S, Constantinou M, Marino S. Unravelling the mosaic: Epigenetic diversity in glioblastoma. Mol Oncol 2024. [PMID: 39148319 DOI: 10.1002/1878-0261.13706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma is the most common primary malignant brain tumour. Despite decades of intensive research in the disease, its prognosis remains poor, with an average survival of only 14 months after diagnosis. The remarkable level of intra- and interpatient heterogeneity is certainly contributing to the lack of progress in tackling this tumour. Epigenetic dysregulation plays an important role in glioblastoma biology and significantly contributes to intratumour heterogeneity. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that it also contributes to intertumour heterogeneity, which historically had mainly been linked to diverse genetic events occurring in different patients. In this review, we explore how DNA methylation, chromatin remodelling, microRNA (miRNA) dysregulation, and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) alterations contribute to intertumour heterogeneity in glioblastoma, including its implications for advanced tumour stratification, which is the essential first step for developing more effective patient-specific therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Lucchini
- Brain Tumour Research Centre, Blizard Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, UK
| | - Myrianni Constantinou
- Brain Tumour Research Centre, Blizard Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, UK
| | - Silvia Marino
- Brain Tumour Research Centre, Blizard Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, UK
- Barts Brain Tumour Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, UK
- Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK
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2
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Farzad N, Enninful A, Bao S, Zhang D, Deng Y, Fan R. Spatially resolved epigenome sequencing via Tn5 transposition and deterministic DNA barcoding in tissue. Nat Protoc 2024:10.1038/s41596-024-01013-y. [PMID: 38943021 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-024-01013-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/30/2024]
Abstract
Spatial epigenetic mapping of tissues enables the study of gene regulation programs and cellular functions with the dependency on their local tissue environment. Here we outline a complete procedure for two spatial epigenomic profiling methods: spatially resolved genome-wide profiling of histone modifications using in situ cleavage under targets and tagmentation (CUT&Tag) chemistry (spatial-CUT&Tag) and transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing (spatial-ATAC-sequencing) for chromatin accessibility. Both assays utilize in-tissue Tn5 transposition to recognize genomic DNA loci followed by microfluidic deterministic barcoding to incorporate spatial address codes. Furthermore, these two methods do not necessitate prior knowledge of the transcription or epigenetic markers for a given tissue or cell type but permit genome-wide unbiased profiling pixel-by-pixel at the 10 μm pixel size level and single-base resolution. To support the widespread adaptation of these methods, details are provided in five general steps: (1) sample preparation; (2) Tn5 transposition in spatial-ATAC-sequencing or antibody-controlled pA-Tn5 tagmentation in CUT&Tag; (3) library preparation; (4) next-generation sequencing; and (5) data analysis using our customed pipelines available at: https://github.com/dyxmvp/Spatial_ATAC-seq and https://github.com/dyxmvp/spatial-CUT-Tag . The whole procedure can be completed on four samples in 2-3 days. Familiarity with basic molecular biology and bioinformatics skills with access to a high-performance computing environment are required. A rudimentary understanding of pathology and specimen sectioning, as well as deterministic barcoding in tissue-specific skills (e.g., design of a multiparameter barcode panel and creation of microfluidic devices), are also advantageous. In this protocol, we mainly focus on spatial profiling of tissue region-specific epigenetic landscapes in mouse embryos and mouse brains using spatial-ATAC-sequencing and spatial-CUT&Tag, but these methods can be used for other species with no need for species-specific probe design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Negin Farzad
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Stem Cell Center and Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Archibald Enninful
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Stem Cell Center and Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Shuozhen Bao
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Stem Cell Center and Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Di Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Yanxiang Deng
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Rong Fan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Yale Stem Cell Center and Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Human and Translational Immunology Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
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3
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Johnson AL, Lopez-Bertoni H. Cellular diversity through space and time: adding new dimensions to GBM therapeutic development. Front Genet 2024; 15:1356611. [PMID: 38774283 PMCID: PMC11106394 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2024.1356611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The current median survival for glioblastoma (GBM) patients is only about 16 months, with many patients succumbing to the disease in just a matter of months, making it the most common and aggressive primary brain cancer in adults. This poor outcome is, in part, due to the lack of new treatment options with only one FDA-approved treatment in the last decade. Advances in sequencing techniques and transcriptomic analyses have revealed a vast degree of heterogeneity in GBM, from inter-patient diversity to intra-tumoral cellular variability. These cutting-edge approaches are providing new molecular insights highlighting a critical role for the tumor microenvironment (TME) as a driver of cellular plasticity and phenotypic heterogeneity. With this expanded molecular toolbox, the influence of TME factors, including endogenous (e.g., oxygen and nutrient availability and interactions with non-malignant cells) and iatrogenically induced (e.g., post-therapeutic intervention) stimuli, on tumor cell states can be explored to a greater depth. There exists a critical need for interrogating the temporal and spatial aspects of patient tumors at a high, cell-level resolution to identify therapeutically targetable states, interactions and mechanisms. In this review, we discuss advancements in our understanding of spatiotemporal diversity in GBM with an emphasis on the influence of hypoxia and immune cell interactions on tumor cell heterogeneity. Additionally, we describe specific high-resolution spatially resolved methodologies and their potential to expand the impact of pre-clinical GBM studies. Finally, we highlight clinical attempts at targeting hypoxia- and immune-related mechanisms of malignancy and the potential therapeutic opportunities afforded by single-cell and spatial exploration of GBM patient specimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda L. Johnson
- Hugo W. Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Neurology, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Hernando Lopez-Bertoni
- Hugo W. Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Neurology, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Oncology, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
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4
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Pichol-Thievend C, Anezo O, Pettiwala AM, Bourmeau G, Montagne R, Lyne AM, Guichet PO, Deshors P, Ballestín A, Blanchard B, Reveilles J, Ravi VM, Joseph K, Heiland DH, Julien B, Leboucher S, Besse L, Legoix P, Dingli F, Liva S, Loew D, Giani E, Ribecco V, Furumaya C, Marcos-Kovandzic L, Masliantsev K, Daubon T, Wang L, Diaz AA, Schnell O, Beck J, Servant N, Karayan-Tapon L, Cavalli FMG, Seano G. VC-resist glioblastoma cell state: vessel co-option as a key driver of chemoradiation resistance. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3602. [PMID: 38684700 PMCID: PMC11058782 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47985-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly lethal type of cancer. GBM recurrence following chemoradiation is typically attributed to the regrowth of invasive and resistant cells. Therefore, there is a pressing need to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying GBM resistance to chemoradiation and its ability to infiltrate. Using a combination of transcriptomic, proteomic, and phosphoproteomic analyses, longitudinal imaging, organotypic cultures, functional assays, animal studies, and clinical data analyses, we demonstrate that chemoradiation and brain vasculature induce cell transition to a functional state named VC-Resist (vessel co-opting and resistant cell state). This cell state is midway along the transcriptomic axis between proneural and mesenchymal GBM cells and is closer to the AC/MES1-like state. VC-Resist GBM cells are highly vessel co-opting, allowing significant infiltration into the surrounding brain tissue and homing to the perivascular niche, which in turn induces even more VC-Resist transition. The molecular and functional characteristics of this FGFR1-YAP1-dependent GBM cell state, including resistance to DNA damage, enrichment in the G2M phase, and induction of senescence/stemness pathways, contribute to its enhanced resistance to chemoradiation. These findings demonstrate how vessel co-option, perivascular niche, and GBM cell plasticity jointly drive resistance to therapy during GBM recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cathy Pichol-Thievend
- Institut Curie, INSERM U1021, CNRS UMR3347, Tumor Microenvironment Lab, Paris-Saclay University, 91400, Orsay, France
| | - Oceane Anezo
- Institut Curie, INSERM U1021, CNRS UMR3347, Tumor Microenvironment Lab, Paris-Saclay University, 91400, Orsay, France
| | - Aafrin M Pettiwala
- Institut Curie, INSERM U1021, CNRS UMR3347, Tumor Microenvironment Lab, Paris-Saclay University, 91400, Orsay, France
- Institut Curie, PSL University, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Guillaume Bourmeau
- Institut Curie, INSERM U1021, CNRS UMR3347, Tumor Microenvironment Lab, Paris-Saclay University, 91400, Orsay, France
| | - Remi Montagne
- Institut Curie, PSL University, 75005, Paris, France
- INSERM U900, 75005, Paris, France
- MINES ParisTeach, CBIO-Centre for Computational Biology, PSL Research University, 75006, Paris, France
| | - Anne-Marie Lyne
- Institut Curie, PSL University, 75005, Paris, France
- INSERM U900, 75005, Paris, France
- MINES ParisTeach, CBIO-Centre for Computational Biology, PSL Research University, 75006, Paris, France
| | - Pierre-Olivier Guichet
- Université de Poitiers, CHU Poitiers, ProDiCeT, F-86000, Poitiers, France
- CHU Poitiers, Laboratoire de Cancérologie Biologique, F-86000, Poitiers, France
| | - Pauline Deshors
- Institut Curie, INSERM U1021, CNRS UMR3347, Tumor Microenvironment Lab, Paris-Saclay University, 91400, Orsay, France
| | - Alberto Ballestín
- Institut Curie, INSERM U1021, CNRS UMR3347, Tumor Microenvironment Lab, Paris-Saclay University, 91400, Orsay, France
| | - Benjamin Blanchard
- Institut Curie, INSERM U1021, CNRS UMR3347, Tumor Microenvironment Lab, Paris-Saclay University, 91400, Orsay, France
| | - Juliette Reveilles
- Institut Curie, INSERM U1021, CNRS UMR3347, Tumor Microenvironment Lab, Paris-Saclay University, 91400, Orsay, France
| | - Vidhya M Ravi
- Department of Neurosurgery, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Kevin Joseph
- Department of Neurosurgery, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Dieter H Heiland
- Department of Neurosurgery, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Boris Julien
- Institut Curie, INSERM U1021, CNRS UMR3347, Tumor Microenvironment Lab, Paris-Saclay University, 91400, Orsay, France
| | | | - Laetitia Besse
- Institut Curie, PSL University, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS UMS2016, INSERM US43, Multimodal Imaging Center, 91400, Orsay, France
| | - Patricia Legoix
- Institut Curie, PSL University, ICGex Next-Generation Sequencing Platform, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Florent Dingli
- Institut Curie, PSL University, CurieCoreTech Spectrométrie de Masse Protéomique, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Stephane Liva
- Institut Curie, PSL University, 75005, Paris, France
- INSERM U900, 75005, Paris, France
- MINES ParisTeach, CBIO-Centre for Computational Biology, PSL Research University, 75006, Paris, France
| | - Damarys Loew
- Institut Curie, PSL University, CurieCoreTech Spectrométrie de Masse Protéomique, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Elisa Giani
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, 20072, Pieve Emanuele, Italy
| | - Valentino Ribecco
- Institut Curie, INSERM U1021, CNRS UMR3347, Tumor Microenvironment Lab, Paris-Saclay University, 91400, Orsay, France
| | - Charita Furumaya
- Institut Curie, INSERM U1021, CNRS UMR3347, Tumor Microenvironment Lab, Paris-Saclay University, 91400, Orsay, France
| | - Laura Marcos-Kovandzic
- Institut Curie, INSERM U1021, CNRS UMR3347, Tumor Microenvironment Lab, Paris-Saclay University, 91400, Orsay, France
| | - Konstantin Masliantsev
- Université de Poitiers, CHU Poitiers, ProDiCeT, F-86000, Poitiers, France
- CHU Poitiers, Laboratoire de Cancérologie Biologique, F-86000, Poitiers, France
| | - Thomas Daubon
- Université Bordeaux, CNRS, IBGC, UMR5095, Bordeaux, France
| | - Lin Wang
- Department of Computational and Quantitative Medicine, Hematologic Malignancies Research Institute and Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, USA
| | - Aaron A Diaz
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Oliver Schnell
- Department of Neurosurgery, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jürgen Beck
- Department of Neurosurgery, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Nicolas Servant
- Institut Curie, PSL University, 75005, Paris, France
- INSERM U900, 75005, Paris, France
- MINES ParisTeach, CBIO-Centre for Computational Biology, PSL Research University, 75006, Paris, France
| | - Lucie Karayan-Tapon
- Université de Poitiers, CHU Poitiers, ProDiCeT, F-86000, Poitiers, France
- CHU Poitiers, Laboratoire de Cancérologie Biologique, F-86000, Poitiers, France
| | - Florence M G Cavalli
- Institut Curie, PSL University, 75005, Paris, France
- INSERM U900, 75005, Paris, France
- MINES ParisTeach, CBIO-Centre for Computational Biology, PSL Research University, 75006, Paris, France
| | - Giorgio Seano
- Institut Curie, INSERM U1021, CNRS UMR3347, Tumor Microenvironment Lab, Paris-Saclay University, 91400, Orsay, France.
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5
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Zhang Y, Sun H, Zhang W, Fu T, Huang S, Mou M, Zhang J, Gao J, Ge Y, Yang Q, Zhu F. CellSTAR: a comprehensive resource for single-cell transcriptomic annotation. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:D859-D870. [PMID: 37855686 PMCID: PMC10767908 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Large-scale studies of single-cell sequencing and biological experiments have successfully revealed expression patterns that distinguish different cell types in tissues, emphasizing the importance of studying cellular heterogeneity and accurately annotating cell types. Analysis of gene expression profiles in these experiments provides two essential types of data for cell type annotation: annotated references and canonical markers. In this study, the first comprehensive database of single-cell transcriptomic annotation resource (CellSTAR) was thus developed. It is unique in (a) offering the comprehensive expertly annotated reference data for annotating hundreds of cell types for the first time and (b) enabling the collective consideration of reference data and marker genes by incorporating tens of thousands of markers. Given its unique features, CellSTAR is expected to attract broad research interests from the technological innovations in single-cell transcriptomics, the studies of cellular heterogeneity & dynamics, and so on. It is now publicly accessible without any login requirement at: https://idrblab.org/cellstar.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Zhang
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Huaicheng Sun
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Tingting Fu
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Shijie Huang
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Minjie Mou
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Jinsong Zhang
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Jianqing Gao
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yichao Ge
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Innovation Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine of Zhejiang University, Alibaba-Zhejiang University Joint Research Center of Future Digital Healthcare, Hangzhou 330110, China
| | - Qingxia Yang
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Therapy for Major Gynecological Diseases, Women's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Department of Bioinformatics, School of Geographic and Biologic Information, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Feng Zhu
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Innovation Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine of Zhejiang University, Alibaba-Zhejiang University Joint Research Center of Future Digital Healthcare, Hangzhou 330110, China
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6
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KOÇHAN N, OKTAY Y, KARAKÜLAH G. StemnesScoRe: an R package to estimate the stemness of glioma cancer cells at single-cell resolution. Turk J Biol 2023; 47:383-392. [PMID: 38681778 PMCID: PMC11045207 DOI: 10.55730/1300-0152.2672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Revised: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Background/aim Glioblastoma is the most heterogeneous and the most difficult-to-treat type of brain tumor and one of the deadliest among all cancers. The high plasticity of glioma cancer stem cells and the resistance they develop against multiple modalities of therapy, along with their high heterogeneity, are the main challenges faced during treatment of glioblastoma. Therefore, a better understanding of the stemness characteristics of glioblastoma cells is needed. With the development of various single-cell technologies and increasing applications of machine learning, indices based on transcriptomic and/or epigenomic data have been developed to quantitatively measure cellular states and stemness. In this study, we aimed to develop a glioma-specific stemness score model using scATAC-seq data for the first time. Materials and methods We first applied three powerful machine-learning algorithms, i.e. random forest, gradient boosting, and extreme gradient boosting, to glioblastoma scRNA-seq data to discover the most important genes associated with cellular states. We then identified promoter and enhancer regions associated with these genes. After downloading the scATAC-seq peaks and their read counts for each patient, we identified the overlapping regions between the single-cell peaks and the peaks of genes obtained through machine-learning algorithms. Then we calculated read counts that were mapped to these overlapping regions. We finally developed a model capable of estimating the stemness score for each glioma cell using overlapping regions and the importance of genes predictive of glioblastoma cellular states. We also created an R package, accessible to all researchers regardless of their coding proficiency. Results Our results showed that mesenchymal-like stem cells display higher stemness scores compared to neural-progenitor-, oligodendrocyte-progenitor-, and astrocyte-like cells. Conclusion scATAC-seq can be used to assess heterogeneity in glioblastoma and identify cells with high stemness characteristics. The package is publicly available at https://github.com/Necla/StemnesScoRe and includes documentation with implementation of a real-data experiment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Necla KOÇHAN
- İzmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, İzmir,
Turkiye
| | - Yavuz OKTAY
- İzmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, İzmir,
Turkiye
- İzmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir,
Turkiye
| | - Gökhan KARAKÜLAH
- İzmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, İzmir,
Turkiye
- Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir,
Turkiye
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7
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Patruno L, Milite S, Bergamin R, Calonaci N, D’Onofrio A, Anselmi F, Antoniotti M, Graudenzi A, Caravagna G. A Bayesian method to infer copy number clones from single-cell RNA and ATAC sequencing. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011557. [PMID: 37917660 PMCID: PMC10645363 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Single-cell RNA and ATAC sequencing technologies enable the examination of gene expression and chromatin accessibility in individual cells, providing insights into cellular phenotypes. In cancer research, it is important to consistently analyze these states within an evolutionary context on genetic clones. Here we present CONGAS+, a Bayesian model to map single-cell RNA and ATAC profiles onto the latent space of copy number clones. CONGAS+ clusters cells into tumour subclones with similar ploidy, rendering straightforward to compare their expression and chromatin profiles. The framework, implemented on GPU and tested on real and simulated data, scales to analyse seamlessly thousands of cells, demonstrating better performance than single-molecule models, and supporting new multi-omics assays. In prostate cancer, lymphoma and basal cell carcinoma, CONGAS+ successfully identifies complex subclonal architectures while providing a coherent mapping between ATAC and RNA, facilitating the study of genotype-phenotype maps and their connection to genomic instability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucrezia Patruno
- Department of Informatics, Systems and Communication, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Salvatore Milite
- Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Trieste, Italy
- Centre for Computational Biology, Human Technopole, Milan, Italy
| | - Riccardo Bergamin
- Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Nicola Calonaci
- Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Alberto D’Onofrio
- Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Fabio Anselmi
- Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Marco Antoniotti
- Department of Informatics, Systems and Communication, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- B4—Bicocca Bioinformatics Biostatistics and Bioimaging Centre, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Alex Graudenzi
- Department of Informatics, Systems and Communication, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- B4—Bicocca Bioinformatics Biostatistics and Bioimaging Centre, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Giulio Caravagna
- Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Trieste, Italy
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8
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Chakraborty C, Nissen I, Vincent CA, Hägglund AC, Hörnblad A, Remeseiro S. Rewiring of the promoter-enhancer interactome and regulatory landscape in glioblastoma orchestrates gene expression underlying neurogliomal synaptic communication. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6446. [PMID: 37833281 PMCID: PMC10576091 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41919-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Chromatin organization controls transcription by modulating 3D-interactions between enhancers and promoters in the nucleus. Alterations in epigenetic states and 3D-chromatin organization result in gene expression changes contributing to cancer. Here, we map the promoter-enhancer interactome and regulatory landscape of glioblastoma, the most aggressive primary brain tumour. Our data reveals profound rewiring of promoter-enhancer interactions, chromatin accessibility and redistribution of histone marks in glioblastoma. This leads to loss of long-range regulatory interactions and overall activation of promoters, which orchestrate changes in the expression of genes associated to glutamatergic synapses, axon guidance, axonogenesis and chromatin remodelling. SMAD3 and PITX1 emerge as major transcription factors controlling genes related to synapse organization and axon guidance. Inhibition of SMAD3 and neuronal activity stimulation cooperate to promote proliferation of glioblastoma cells in co-culture with glutamatergic neurons, and in mice bearing patient-derived xenografts. Our findings provide mechanistic insight into the regulatory networks that mediate neurogliomal synaptic communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaitali Chakraborty
- Umeå Centre for Molecular Medicine (UCMM), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine (WCMM), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Itzel Nissen
- Umeå Centre for Molecular Medicine (UCMM), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine (WCMM), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Craig A Vincent
- Umeå Centre for Molecular Medicine (UCMM), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine (WCMM), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Anna-Carin Hägglund
- Umeå Centre for Molecular Medicine (UCMM), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine (WCMM), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Andreas Hörnblad
- Umeå Centre for Molecular Medicine (UCMM), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Silvia Remeseiro
- Umeå Centre for Molecular Medicine (UCMM), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine (WCMM), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
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9
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Pang L, Dunterman M, Guo S, Khan F, Liu Y, Taefi E, Bahrami A, Geula C, Hsu WH, Horbinski C, James CD, Chen P. Kunitz-type protease inhibitor TFPI2 remodels stemness and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in glioblastoma. Nat Immunol 2023; 24:1654-1670. [PMID: 37667051 PMCID: PMC10775912 DOI: 10.1038/s41590-023-01605-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) tumors consist of multiple cell populations, including self-renewing glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) and immunosuppressive microglia. Here we identified Kunitz-type protease inhibitor TFPI2 as a critical factor connecting these cell populations and their associated GBM hallmarks of stemness and immunosuppression. TFPI2 promotes GSC self-renewal and tumor growth via activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3 pathway. Secreted TFPI2 interacts with its functional receptor CD51 on microglia to trigger the infiltration and immunosuppressive polarization of microglia through activation of STAT6 signaling. Inhibition of the TFPI2-CD51-STAT6 signaling axis activates T cells and synergizes with anti-PD1 therapy in GBM mouse models. In human GBM, TFPI2 correlates positively with stemness, microglia abundance, immunosuppression and poor prognosis. Our study identifies a function for TFPI2 and supports therapeutic targeting of TFPI2 as an effective strategy for GBM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lizhi Pang
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Lou and Jean Malnati Brain Tumor Institute, Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Madeline Dunterman
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Lou and Jean Malnati Brain Tumor Institute, Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Songlin Guo
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Lou and Jean Malnati Brain Tumor Institute, Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Fatima Khan
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Lou and Jean Malnati Brain Tumor Institute, Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Yang Liu
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Lou and Jean Malnati Brain Tumor Institute, Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Erfan Taefi
- Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Atousa Bahrami
- Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Changiz Geula
- Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Wen-Hao Hsu
- Department of Cancer Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Craig Horbinski
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Lou and Jean Malnati Brain Tumor Institute, Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Pathology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Charles David James
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Lou and Jean Malnati Brain Tumor Institute, Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Peiwen Chen
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Lou and Jean Malnati Brain Tumor Institute, Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
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10
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Ashouri A, Zhang C, Gaiti F. Decoding Cancer Evolution: Integrating Genetic and Non-Genetic Insights. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:1856. [PMID: 37895205 PMCID: PMC10606072 DOI: 10.3390/genes14101856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of cancer begins with cells transitioning from their multicellular nature to a state akin to unicellular organisms. This shift leads to a breakdown in the crucial regulators inherent to multicellularity, resulting in the emergence of diverse cancer cell subpopulations that have enhanced adaptability. The presence of different cell subpopulations within a tumour, known as intratumoural heterogeneity (ITH), poses challenges for cancer treatment. In this review, we delve into the dynamics of the shift from multicellularity to unicellularity during cancer onset and progression. We highlight the role of genetic and non-genetic factors, as well as tumour microenvironment, in promoting ITH and cancer evolution. Additionally, we shed light on the latest advancements in omics technologies that allow for in-depth analysis of tumours at the single-cell level and their spatial organization within the tissue. Obtaining such detailed information is crucial for deepening our understanding of the diverse evolutionary paths of cancer, allowing for the development of effective therapies targeting the key drivers of cancer evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arghavan Ashouri
- Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 2M9, Canada
| | - Chufan Zhang
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada
| | - Federico Gaiti
- Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 2M9, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada
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11
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Davies A, Zoubeidi A, Beltran H, Selth LA. The Transcriptional and Epigenetic Landscape of Cancer Cell Lineage Plasticity. Cancer Discov 2023; 13:1771-1788. [PMID: 37470668 PMCID: PMC10527883 DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-23-0225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
Lineage plasticity, a process whereby cells change their phenotype to take on a different molecular and/or histologic identity, is a key driver of cancer progression and therapy resistance. Although underlying genetic changes within the tumor can enhance lineage plasticity, it is predominantly a dynamic process controlled by transcriptional and epigenetic dysregulation. This review explores the transcriptional and epigenetic regulators of lineage plasticity and their interplay with other features of malignancy, such as dysregulated metabolism, the tumor microenvironment, and immune evasion. We also discuss strategies for the detection and treatment of highly plastic tumors. SIGNIFICANCE Lineage plasticity is a hallmark of cancer and a critical facilitator of other oncogenic features such as metastasis, therapy resistance, dysregulated metabolism, and immune evasion. It is essential that the molecular mechanisms of lineage plasticity are elucidated to enable the development of strategies to effectively target this phenomenon. In this review, we describe key transcriptional and epigenetic regulators of cancer cell plasticity, in the process highlighting therapeutic approaches that may be harnessed for patient benefit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alastair Davies
- Oncology Research Discovery, Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Amina Zoubeidi
- Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Vancouver Prostate Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Himisha Beltran
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Luke A. Selth
- Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute and Freemasons Centre for Male Health and Wellbeing, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042 Australia
- Adelaide Medical School, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005 Australia
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12
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Wang X, Sun Q, Wang W, Liu B, Gu Y, Chen L. Decoding key cell sub-populations and molecular alterations in glioblastoma at recurrence by single-cell analysis. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2023; 11:125. [PMID: 37525259 PMCID: PMC10391841 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-023-01613-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most frequent malignant brain tumor, the relapse of which is unavoidable following standard treatment. However, the effective treatment for recurrent GBM is lacking, necessitating the understanding of key mechanisms driving tumor recurrence and the identification of new targets for intervention. Here, we integrated single-cell RNA-sequencing data spanning 36 patient-matched primary and recurrent GBM (pGBM and rGBM) specimens, with 6 longitudinal GBM spatial transcriptomics to explore molecular alterations at recurrence, with each cell type characterized in parallel. Genes involved in extracellular matrix (ECM) organization are preferentially enriched in rGBM cells, and MAFK is highlighted as a potential regulator. Notably, we uncover a unique subpopulation of GBM cells that is much less detected in pGBM and highly expresses ECM and mesenchyme related genes, suggesting it may contribute to the molecular transition of rGBM. Further regulatory network analysis reveals that transcription factors, such as NFATC4 and activator protein 1 members, may function as hub regulators. All non-tumor cells alter their specific sets of genes as well and certain subgroups of myeloid cells appear to be physically associated with the mesenchyme-like GBM subpopulation. Altogether, our study provides new insights into the molecular understanding of GBM relapse and candidate targets for rGBM treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Wang
- RNA Institute, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Neurosurgery, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
- BGI Research, Hangzhou, 310030 China
| | - Qian Sun
- RNA Institute, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Neurosurgery, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Weiwen Wang
- China National GeneBank, BGI Research, Shenzhen, 518120 China
| | - Baohui Liu
- RNA Institute, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Neurosurgery, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Ying Gu
- BGI Research, Hangzhou, 310030 China
- BGI Research, Shenzhen, 518083 China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write, BGI Research, Shenzhen, 518083 China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 China
| | - Liang Chen
- RNA Institute, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Neurosurgery, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
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13
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Vadla R, Miki S, Taylor B, Kawauchi D, Jones BM, Nathwani N, Pham P, Tsang J, Nathanson DA, Furnari FB. Glioblastoma Mesenchymal Transition and Invasion are Dependent on a NF-κB/BRD2 Chromatin Complex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.03.546613. [PMID: 37461511 PMCID: PMC10349949 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.03.546613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) represents the most aggressive subtype of glioma, noted for its profound invasiveness and molecular heterogeneity. The mesenchymal (MES) transcriptomic subtype is frequently associated with therapy resistance, rapid recurrence, and increased tumor-associated macrophages. Notably, activation of the NF-κB pathway and alterations in the PTEN gene are both associated with this malignant transition. Although PTEN aberrations have been shown to be associated with enhanced NF-κB signaling, the relationships between PTEN, NF-κB and MES transition are poorly understood in GBM. Here, we show that PTEN regulates the chromatin binding of bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) family proteins, BRD2 and BRD4, mediated by p65/RelA localization to the chromatin. By utilizing patient-derived glioblastoma stem cells and CRISPR gene editing of the RELA gene, we demonstrate a crucial role for RelA lysine 310 acetylation in recruiting BET proteins to chromatin for MES gene expression and GBM cell invasion upon PTEN loss. Remarkably, we found that BRD2 is dependent on chromatin associated acetylated RelA for its recruitment to MES gene promoters and their expression. Furthermore, loss of BRD2 results in the loss of MES signature, accompanied by an enrichment of proneural signature and enhanced therapy responsiveness. Finally, we demonstrate that disrupting the NFκB/BRD2 interaction with a brain penetrant BET-BD2 inhibitor reduces mesenchymal gene expression, GBM invasion, and therapy resistance in GBM models. This study uncovers the role of hitherto unexplored PTEN-NF-κB-BRD2 pathway in promoting MES transition and suggests inhibiting this complex with BET-BD2 specific inhibitors as a therapeutic approach to target the MES phenotype in GBM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raghavendra Vadla
- Division of Regenerative Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Shunichiro Miki
- Division of Regenerative Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Brett Taylor
- Division of Regenerative Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Daisuke Kawauchi
- Division of Regenerative Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Brandon M Jones
- Division of Regenerative Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Nidhi Nathwani
- Division of Regenerative Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Philip Pham
- Division of Regenerative Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Jonathan Tsang
- Departments of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - David A Nathanson
- Departments of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Frank B Furnari
- Division of Regenerative Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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14
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Eisenbarth D, Wang YA. Glioblastoma heterogeneity at single cell resolution. Oncogene 2023; 42:2155-2165. [PMID: 37277603 PMCID: PMC10913075 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-023-02738-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the deadliest types of cancer and highly refractory to chemoradiation and immunotherapy. One of the main reasons for this resistance to therapy lies within the heterogeneity of the tumor and its associated microenvironment. The vast diversity of cell states, composition of cells, and phenotypical characteristics makes it difficult to accurately classify GBM into distinct subtypes and find effective therapies. The advancement of sequencing technologies in recent years has further corroborated the heterogeneity of GBM at the single cell level. Recent studies have only begun to elucidate the different cell states present in GBM and how they correlate with sensitivity to therapy. Furthermore, it has become clear that GBM heterogeneity not only depends on intrinsic factors but also strongly differs between new and recurrent GBM, and treatment naïve and experienced patients. Understanding and connecting the complex cellular network that underlies GBM heterogeneity will be indispensable in finding new ways to tackle this deadly disease. Here, we present an overview of the multiple layers of GBM heterogeneity and discuss novel findings in the age of single cell technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Eisenbarth
- The Brown Center for Immunotherapy, Department of Medicine, Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
| | - Y Alan Wang
- The Brown Center for Immunotherapy, Department of Medicine, Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
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15
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Raviram R, Raman A, Preissl S, Ning J, Wu S, Koga T, Zhang K, Brennan CW, Zhu C, Luebeck J, Van Deynze K, Han JY, Hou X, Ye Z, Mischel AK, Li YE, Fang R, Baback T, Mugford J, Han CZ, Glass CK, Barr CL, Mischel PS, Bafna V, Escoubet L, Ren B, Chen CC. Integrated analysis of single-cell chromatin state and transcriptome identified common vulnerability despite glioblastoma heterogeneity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2210991120. [PMID: 37155843 PMCID: PMC10194019 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2210991120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
In 2021, the World Health Organization reclassified glioblastoma, the most common form of adult brain cancer, into isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wild-type glioblastomas and grade IV IDH mutant (G4 IDHm) astrocytomas. For both tumor types, intratumoral heterogeneity is a key contributor to therapeutic failure. To better define this heterogeneity, genome-wide chromatin accessibility and transcription profiles of clinical samples of glioblastomas and G4 IDHm astrocytomas were analyzed at single-cell resolution. These profiles afforded resolution of intratumoral genetic heterogeneity, including delineation of cell-to-cell variations in distinct cell states, focal gene amplifications, as well as extrachromosomal circular DNAs. Despite differences in IDH mutation status and significant intratumoral heterogeneity, the profiled tumor cells shared a common chromatin structure defined by open regions enriched for nuclear factor 1 transcription factors (NFIA and NFIB). Silencing of NFIA or NFIB suppressed in vitro and in vivo growths of patient-derived glioblastomas and G4 IDHm astrocytoma models. These findings suggest that despite distinct genotypes and cell states, glioblastoma/G4 astrocytoma cells share dependency on core transcriptional programs, yielding an attractive platform for addressing therapeutic challenges associated with intratumoral heterogeneity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramya Raviram
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Anugraha Raman
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Sebastian Preissl
- Center for Epigenomics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
- Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jiangfang Ning
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN55455
| | - Shaoping Wu
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN55455
| | - Tomoyuki Koga
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN55455
| | - Kai Zhang
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Cameron W. Brennan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY10065
| | - Chenxu Zhu
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Jens Luebeck
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Halicioglu Data Science Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Kinsey Van Deynze
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Jee Yun Han
- Center for Epigenomics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Xiaomeng Hou
- Center for Epigenomics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Zhen Ye
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Anna K. Mischel
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Yang Eric Li
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Rongxin Fang
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Tomas Baback
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Joshua Mugford
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Claudia Z. Han
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Christopher K. Glass
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Cathy L. Barr
- Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Division of Experimental & Translational Neuroscience, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ONM5T 0S8, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ONM5T 0S8, Canada
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ONM5T 0S8, Canada
| | - Paul S. Mischel
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Vineet Bafna
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Halicioglu Data Science Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Laure Escoubet
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, San Diego, CA92121
| | - Bing Ren
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
- Center for Epigenomics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
| | - Clark C. Chen
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN55455
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16
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Pine AR, Cirigliano SM, Singhania R, Nicholson J, da Silva B, Leslie CS, Fine HA. Microenvironment-Driven Dynamic Chromatin Changes in Glioblastoma Recapitulate Early Neural Development at Single-Cell Resolution. Cancer Res 2023; 83:1581-1595. [PMID: 36877162 PMCID: PMC11022245 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-22-2872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/07/2023]
Abstract
The tumor microenvironment is necessary for recapitulating the intratumoral heterogeneity and cell state plasticity found in human primary glioblastoma (GBM). Conventional models do not accurately recapitulate the spectrum of GBM cellular states, hindering elucidation of the underlying transcriptional regulation of these states. Using our glioblastoma cerebral organoid model, we profiled the chromatin accessibility of 28,040 single cells in five patient-derived glioma stem cell lines. Integration of paired epigenomes and transcriptomes within the context of tumor-normal host cell interactions was used to probe the gene-regulatory networks underlying individual GBM cellular states in a way not readily possible in other in vitro models. These analyses identified the epigenetic underpinnings of GBM cellular states and characterized dynamic chromatin changes reminiscent of early neural development that underlie GBM cell state transitions. Despite large differences between tumors, a shared cellular compartment made up of neural progenitor-like cells and outer radial glia-like cells was observed. Together, these results shed light on the transcriptional regulation program in GBM and offer novel therapeutic targets across a broad range of genetically heterogenous GBMs. SIGNIFICANCE Single-cell analyses elucidate the chromatin landscape and transcriptional regulation of glioblastoma cellular states and identify a radial glia-like population, providing potential targets to disrupt cell states and improve therapeutic efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison R. Pine
- Computational and Systems Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
- Tri-Institutional Program in Computational Biology and Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | | | - Richa Singhania
- Department of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10021 USA
| | - James Nicholson
- Department of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10021 USA
| | - Bárbara da Silva
- Department of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10021 USA
| | - Christina S. Leslie
- Computational and Systems Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Howard A. Fine
- Department of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10021 USA
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17
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Murdaugh RL, Anastas JN. Applying single cell multi-omic analyses to understand treatment resistance in pediatric high grade glioma. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1002296. [PMID: 37205910 PMCID: PMC10191214 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1002296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite improvements in cancer patient outcomes seen in the past decade, tumor resistance to therapy remains a major impediment to achieving durable clinical responses. Intratumoral heterogeneity related to genetic, epigenetic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolic differences between individual cancer cells has emerged as a driver of therapeutic resistance. This cell to cell heterogeneity can be assessed using single cell profiling technologies that enable the identification of tumor cell clones that exhibit similar defining features like specific mutations or patterns of DNA methylation. Single cell profiling of tumors before and after treatment can generate new insights into the cancer cell characteristics that confer therapeutic resistance by identifying intrinsically resistant sub-populations that survive treatment and by describing new cellular features that emerge post-treatment due to tumor cell evolution. Integrative, single cell analytical approaches have already proven advantageous in studies characterizing treatment-resistant clones in cancers where pre- and post-treatment patient samples are readily available, such as leukemia. In contrast, little is known about other cancer subtypes like pediatric high grade glioma, a class of heterogeneous, malignant brain tumors in children that rapidly develop resistance to multiple therapeutic modalities, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation. Leveraging single cell multi-omic technologies to analyze naïve and therapy-resistant glioma may lead to the discovery of novel strategies to overcome treatment resistance in brain tumors with dismal clinical outcomes. In this review, we explore the potential for single cell multi-omic analyses to reveal mechanisms of glioma resistance to therapy and discuss opportunities to apply these approaches to improve long-term therapeutic response in pediatric high grade glioma and other brain tumors with limited treatment options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca L. Murdaugh
- Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
- Program in Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Jamie N. Anastas
- Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
- Program in Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
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18
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Kang J, Dai Y, Li J, Fan H, Zhao Z. Investigating cellular heterogeneity at the single-cell level by the flexible and mobile extrachromosomal circular DNA. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2023; 21:1115-1121. [PMID: 36789262 PMCID: PMC9900259 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.01.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) is a special class of DNA derived from linear chromosomes. It coexists independently with linear chromosomes in the nucleus. eccDNA has been identified in multiple organisms, including Homo sapiens, and has been shown to play important roles relevant to tumor progression and drug resistance. To date, computational tools developed for eccDNA detection are only applicable to bulk tissue. Investigating eccDNA at the single-cell level using a computational approach will elucidate the heterogeneous and cell-type-specific landscape of eccDNA within cellular context. Here, we performed the first eccDNA analysis at the single-cell level using data generated by single-cell Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin with sequencing (scATAC-seq) in adult and pediatric glioblastoma (GBM) samples. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive tumor of the central nervous system with a poor prognosis. Our analysis provides an overview of cellular origins, genomic distribution, as well as the differential regulations between linear and circular genome under disease- and cell-type-specific conditions across the open chromatin regions in GBM. We focused on some eccDNA elements that are potential mobile enhancers acting in a trans-regulation manner. In summary, this pilot study revealed novel eccDNA features in the cellular context of brain tumor, supporting the strong need for eccDNA investigation at the single-cell level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajinlong Kang
- Center for Precision Health, School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA,MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Yulin Dai
- Center for Precision Health, School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jinze Li
- Center for Precision Health, School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA,Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environment Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Huihui Fan
- Center for Precision Health, School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA,Department of Neurology, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA,Correspondence to: Center for Precision Health, School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin St. Suite 600, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
| | - Zhongming Zhao
- Center for Precision Health, School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA,MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX 77030, USA,Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environment Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA,Human Genetics Center, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA,Correspondence to: Center for Precision Health, School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin St. Suite 600, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
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19
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Weth FR, Peng L, Paterson E, Tan ST, Gray C. Utility of the Cerebral Organoid Glioma 'GLICO' Model for Screening Applications. Cells 2022; 12:cells12010153. [PMID: 36611949 PMCID: PMC9818141 DOI: 10.3390/cells12010153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Revised: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma, a grade IV astrocytoma, is regarded as the most aggressive primary brain tumour with an overall median survival of 16.0 months following the standard treatment regimen of surgical resection, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy with temozolomide. Despite such intensive treatment, the tumour almost invariably recurs. This poor prognosis has most commonly been attributed to the initiation, propagation, and differentiation of cancer stem cells. Despite the unprecedented advances in biomedical research over the last decade, the current in vitro models are limited at preserving the inter- and intra-tumoural heterogeneity of primary tumours. The ability to understand and manipulate complex cancers such as glioblastoma requires disease models to be clinically and translationally relevant and encompass the cellular heterogeneity of such cancers. Therefore, brain cancer research models need to aim to recapitulate glioblastoma stem cell function, whilst remaining amenable for analysis. Fortunately, the recent development of 3D cultures has overcome some of these challenges, and cerebral organoids are emerging as cutting-edge tools in glioblastoma research. The opportunity to generate cerebral organoids via induced pluripotent stem cells, and to perform co-cultures with patient-derived cancer stem cells (GLICO model), has enabled the analysis of cancer development in a context that better mimics brain tissue architecture. In this article, we review the recent literature on the use of patient-derived glioblastoma organoid models and their applicability for drug screening, as well as provide a potential workflow for screening using the GLICO model. The proposed workflow is practical for use in most laboratories with accessible materials and equipment, a good first pass, and no animal work required. This workflow is also amenable for analysis, with separate measures of invasion, growth, and viability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Freya R. Weth
- Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, 7 Hospital Road, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
- Centre for Biodiscovery and School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
| | - Lifeng Peng
- Centre for Biodiscovery and School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
| | - Erin Paterson
- Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, 7 Hospital Road, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
| | - Swee T. Tan
- Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, 7 Hospital Road, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
- Wellington Regional Plastic, Maxillofacial & Burns Unit, Hutt Hospital, Lower Hutt 5040, New Zealand
- Department of Surgery, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Clint Gray
- Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, 7 Hospital Road, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
- Correspondence:
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20
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Zhang Q, Jin S, Zou X. scAB detects multiresolution cell states with clinical significance by integrating single-cell genomics and bulk sequencing data. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:12112-12130. [PMID: 36440766 PMCID: PMC9757078 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac1109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Although single-cell sequencing has provided a powerful tool to deconvolute cellular heterogeneity of diseases like cancer, extrapolating clinical significance or identifying clinically-relevant cells remains challenging. Here, we propose a novel computational method scAB, which integrates single-cell genomics data with clinically annotated bulk sequencing data via a knowledge- and graph-guided matrix factorization model. Once combined, scAB provides a coarse- and fine-grain multiresolution perspective of phenotype-associated cell states and prognostic signatures previously not visible by single-cell genomics. We use scAB to enhance live cancer single-cell RNA-seq data, identifying clinically-relevant previously unrecognized cancer and stromal cell subsets whose signatures show a stronger poor-survival association. The identified fine-grain cell subsets are associated with distinct cancer hallmarks and prognosis power. Furthermore, scAB demonstrates its utility as a biomarker identification tool, with the ability to predict immunotherapy, drug responses and survival when applied to melanoma single-cell RNA-seq datasets and glioma single-cell ATAC-seq datasets. Across multiple single-cell and bulk datasets from different cancer types, we also demonstrate the superior performance of scAB in generating prognosis signatures and survival predictions over existing models. Overall, scAB provides an efficient tool for prioritizing clinically-relevant cell subsets and predictive signatures, utilizing large publicly available databases to improve prognosis and treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinran Zhang
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China,Hubei Key Laboratory of Computational Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Suoqin Jin
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +86 027 68752957; Fax: +86 027 68752256;
| | - Xiufen Zou
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Xiufen Zou. Tel: +86 027 68752957; Fax: +86 027 68752256;
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21
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Wang D, Wu X, Jiang G, Yang J, Yu Z, Yang Y, Yang W, Niu X, Tang K, Gong J. Systematic analysis of the effects of genetic variants on chromatin accessibility to decipher functional variants in non-coding regions. Front Oncol 2022; 12:1035855. [PMID: 36330496 PMCID: PMC9623183 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1035855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide association study (GWAS) has identified thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with complex diseases and traits. However, deciphering the functions of these SNPs still faces challenges. Recent studies have shown that SNPs could alter chromatin accessibility and result in differences in tumor susceptibility between individuals. Therefore, systematically analyzing the effects of SNPs on chromatin accessibility could help decipher the functions of SNPs, especially those in non-coding regions. Using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), chromatin accessibility quantitative trait locus (caQTL) analysis was conducted to estimate the associations between genetic variants and chromatin accessibility. We analyzed caQTLs in 23 human cancer types and identified 9,478 caQTLs in breast carcinoma (BRCA). In BRCA, these caQTLs tend to alter the binding affinity of transcription factors, and open chromatin regions regulated by these caQTLs are enriched in regulatory elements. By integrating with eQTL data, we identified 141 caQTLs showing a strong signal for colocalization with eQTLs. We also identified 173 caQTLs in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) loci and inferred several possible target genes of these caQTLs. By performing survival analysis, we found that ~10% caQTLs potentially influence the prognosis of patients. To facilitate access to relevant data, we developed a user-friendly data portal, BCaQTL (http://gong_lab.hzau.edu.cn/caqtl_database), for data searching and downloading. Our work may facilitate fine-map regulatory mechanisms underlying risk loci of cancer and discover the biomarkers or therapeutic targets for cancer prognosis. The BCaQTL database will be an important resource for genetic and epigenetic studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongyang Wang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xiaohong Wu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Guanghui Jiang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jianye Yang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zhanhui Yu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yanbo Yang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Wenqian Yang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xiaohui Niu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Ke Tang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- *Correspondence: Jing Gong, ; Ke Tang,
| | - Jing Gong
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
- College of Biomedicine and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
- *Correspondence: Jing Gong, ; Ke Tang,
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22
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Chen HM, Nikolic A, Singhal D, Gallo M. Roles of Chromatin Remodelling and Molecular Heterogeneity in Therapy Resistance in Glioblastoma. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:4942. [PMID: 36230865 PMCID: PMC9563350 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14194942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Revised: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a therapy-resistant reservoir in glioblastoma (GBM). It is now becoming clear that epigenetic and chromatin remodelling programs link the stemlike behaviour of CSCs to their treatment resistance. New evidence indicates that the epigenome of GBM cells is shaped by intrinsic and extrinsic factors, including their genetic makeup, their interactions and communication with other neoplastic and non-neoplastic cells, including immune cells, and their metabolic niche. In this review, we explore how all these factors contribute to epigenomic heterogeneity in a tumour and the selection of therapy-resistant cells. Lastly, we discuss current and emerging experimental platforms aimed at precisely understanding the epigenetic mechanisms of therapy resistance that ultimately lead to tumour relapse. Given the growing arsenal of drugs that target epigenetic enzymes, our review addresses promising preclinical and clinical applications of epidrugs to treat GBM, and possible mechanisms of resistance that need to be overcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huey-Miin Chen
- Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Ana Nikolic
- Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Divya Singhal
- Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Marco Gallo
- Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
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23
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Gonzalez Castro LN, Liu I, Filbin M. Characterizing the biology of primary brain tumors and their microenvironment via single-cell profiling methods. Neuro Oncol 2022; 25:234-247. [PMID: 36197833 PMCID: PMC9925698 DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noac211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Genomic and transcriptional heterogeneity is prevalent among the most common and aggressive primary brain tumors in children and adults. Over the past 20 years, advances in bioengineering, biochemistry and bioinformatics have enabled the development of an array of techniques to study tumor biology at single-cell resolution. The application of these techniques to study primary brain tumors has helped advance our understanding of their intra-tumoral heterogeneity and uncover new insights regarding their co-option of developmental programs and signaling from their microenvironment to promote tumor proliferation and invasion. These insights are currently being harnessed to develop new therapeutic approaches. Here we provide an overview of current single-cell techniques and discuss relevant biology and therapeutic insights uncovered by their application to primary brain tumors in children and adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Nicolas Gonzalez Castro
- Corresponding Author: L. Nicolas Gonzalez Castro, MD, PhD, Center for Neuro-Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA ()
| | | | - Mariella Filbin
- Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Program, Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
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24
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Johnson AL, Laterra J, Lopez-Bertoni H. Exploring glioblastoma stem cell heterogeneity: Immune microenvironment modulation and therapeutic opportunities. Front Oncol 2022; 12:995498. [PMID: 36212415 PMCID: PMC9532940 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.995498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite its growing use in cancer treatment, immunotherapy has been virtually ineffective in clinical trials for gliomas. The inherently cold tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) in gliomas, characterized by a high ratio of pro-tumor to anti-tumor immune cell infiltrates, acts as a seemingly insurmountable barrier to immunotherapy. Glioma stem cells (GSCs) within these tumors are key contributors to this cold TIME, often functioning indirectly through activation and recruitment of pro-tumor immune cell types. Furthermore, drivers of GSC plasticity and heterogeneity (e.g., reprogramming transcription factors, epigenetic modifications) are associated with induction of immunosuppressive cell states. Recent studies have identified GSC-intrinsic mechanisms, including functional mimicry of immune suppressive cell types, as key determinants of anti-tumor immune escape. In this review, we cover recent advancements in our understanding of GSC-intrinsic mechanisms that modulate GSC-TIME interactions and discuss cutting-edge techniques and bioinformatics platforms available to study immune modulation at high cellular resolution with exploration of both malignant (i.e., GSC) and non-malignant (i.e., immune) cell fractions. Finally, we provide insight into the therapeutic opportunities for targeting immunomodulatory GSC-intrinsic mechanisms to potentiate immunotherapy response in gliomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda L. Johnson
- Hugo W. Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - John Laterra
- Hugo W. Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- *Correspondence: John Laterra, ; Hernando Lopez-Bertoni,
| | - Hernando Lopez-Bertoni
- Hugo W. Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- *Correspondence: John Laterra, ; Hernando Lopez-Bertoni,
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25
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F. V, V. D. P, C. M, M. LI, C. D, G. P, D. C, A. T, M. G, S. DF, M. T, V. V, G. S. Targeting epigenetic alterations in cancer stem cells. FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR MEDICINE 2022; 2:1011882. [PMID: 39086963 PMCID: PMC11285701 DOI: 10.3389/fmmed.2022.1011882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 08/02/2024]
Abstract
Oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes are rarely mutated in several pediatric tumors and some early stage adult cancers. This suggests that an aberrant epigenetic reprogramming may crucially affect the tumorigenesis of these tumors. Compelling evidence support the hypothesis that cancer stem cells (CSCs), a cell subpopulation within the tumor bulk characterized by self-renewal capacity, metastatic potential and chemo-resistance, may derive from normal stem cells (NSCs) upon an epigenetic deregulation. Thus, a better understanding of the specific epigenetic alterations driving the transformation from NSCs into CSCs may help to identify efficacious treatments to target this aggressive subpopulation. Moreover, deepening the knowledge about these alterations may represent the framework to design novel therapeutic approaches also in the field of regenerative medicine in which bioengineering of NSCs has been evaluated. Here, we provide a broad overview about: 1) the role of aberrant epigenetic modifications contributing to CSC initiation, formation and maintenance, 2) the epigenetic inhibitors in clinical trial able to specifically target the CSC subpopulation, and 3) epigenetic drugs and stem cells used in regenerative medicine for cancer and diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verona F.
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Pantina V. D.
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Stomatological Sciences (DICHIRONS), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Modica C.
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Stomatological Sciences (DICHIRONS), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Lo Iacono M.
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - D’Accardo C.
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Porcelli G.
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Cricchio D.
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Stomatological Sciences (DICHIRONS), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Turdo A.
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Gaggianesi M.
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Stomatological Sciences (DICHIRONS), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Di Franco S.
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Stomatological Sciences (DICHIRONS), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Todaro M.
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Veschi V.
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Stomatological Sciences (DICHIRONS), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Stassi G.
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Stomatological Sciences (DICHIRONS), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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26
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Gimple RC, Yang K, Halbert ME, Agnihotri S, Rich JN. Brain cancer stem cells: resilience through adaptive plasticity and hierarchical heterogeneity. Nat Rev Cancer 2022; 22:497-514. [PMID: 35710946 DOI: 10.1038/s41568-022-00486-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Malignant brain tumours are complex ecosystems containing neoplastic and stromal components that generate adaptive and evolutionarily driven aberrant tissues in the central nervous system. Brain cancers are cultivated by a dynamic population of stem-like cells that enforce intratumoural heterogeneity and respond to intrinsic microenvironment or therapeutically guided insults through proliferation, plasticity and restructuring of neoplastic and stromal components. Far from a rigid hierarchy, heterogeneous neoplastic populations transition between cellular states with differential self-renewal capacities, endowing them with powerful resilience. Here we review the biological machinery used by brain tumour stem cells to commandeer tissues in the intracranial space, evade immune responses and resist chemoradiotherapy. Through recent advances in single-cell sequencing, improved models to investigate the role of the tumour microenvironment and a deeper understanding of the fundamental role of the immune system in cancer biology, we are now better equipped to explore mechanisms by which these processes can be exploited for therapeutic benefit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan C Gimple
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Kailin Yang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Taussig Cancer Center, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Matthew E Halbert
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Sameer Agnihotri
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jeremy N Rich
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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27
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Casado-Pelaez M, Bueno-Costa A, Esteller M. Single cell cancer epigenetics. Trends Cancer 2022; 8:820-838. [PMID: 35821003 DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2022.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Bulk sequencing methodologies have allowed us to make great progress in cancer research. Unfortunately, these techniques lack the resolution to fully unravel the epigenetic mechanisms that govern tumor heterogeneity. Consequently, many novel single cell-sequencing methodologies have been developed over the past decade, allowing us to explore the epigenetic components that regulate different aspects of cancer heterogeneity, namely: clonal heterogeneity, tumor microenvironment (TME), spatial organization, intratumoral differentiation programs, metastasis, and resistance mechanisms. In this review, we explore the different sequencing techniques that enable researchers to study different aspects of epigenetics (DNA methylation, chromatin accessibility, histone modifications, DNA-protein interactions, and chromatin 3D architecture) at the single cell level, their potential applications in cancer, and their current technical limitations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Casado-Pelaez
- Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), Badalona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Alberto Bueno-Costa
- Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), Badalona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Manel Esteller
- Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), Badalona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red Cancer (CIBERONC), 28029 Madrid, Spain; Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Physiological Sciences Department, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
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28
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Koh L, Novera W, Lim SW, Chong YK, Pang QY, Low D, Ang BT, Tang C. Integrative multi-omics approach to targeted therapy for glioblastoma. Pharmacol Res 2022; 182:106308. [PMID: 35714825 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2022.106308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Revised: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
This review describes recent technological advances applied to glioblastoma (GBM), a brain tumor with dismal prognosis. International consortial efforts suggest the presence of molecular subtypes within histologically identical GBM tumors. This emphasizes that future treatment decisions should no longer be made based solely on morphological analyses, but must now take into consideration such molecular and cellular heterogeneity. The use of single-cell technologies has advanced our understanding and assignation of functional subtypes revealing therapeutic vulnerabilities. Our team has developed stratification approaches in the past few years, and we have been able to identify patient cohorts enriched for various signaling pathways. Importantly, our Glioportal brain tumor resource has been established under the National Neuroscience Institute Tissue Bank in 2021. This resource offers preclinical capability to validate working hypotheses established from patient clinical datasets. This review highlights recent developments with the ultimate goal of assigning functional meaning to molecular subtypes, revealing therapeutic vulnerabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynnette Koh
- Department of Research, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore.
| | - Wisna Novera
- Department of Research, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore
| | - See Wee Lim
- Department of Research, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore
| | - Yuk Kien Chong
- Department of Research, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore
| | - Qing You Pang
- Department of Research, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore
| | - David Low
- Department of Neurosurgery, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore; Duke-National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Beng Ti Ang
- Department of Neurosurgery, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore; Duke-National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Carol Tang
- Department of Research, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore; Duke-National University of Singapore, Singapore; School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
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29
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Lu X, Maturi NP, Jarvius M, Yildirim I, Dang Y, Zhao L, Xie Y, Tan EJ, Xing P, Larsson R, Fryknäs M, Uhrbom L, Chen X. Cell-lineage controlled epigenetic regulation in glioblastoma stem cells determines functionally distinct subgroups and predicts patient survival. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2236. [PMID: 35469026 PMCID: PMC9038925 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29912-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
There is ample support for developmental regulation of glioblastoma stem cells. To examine how cell lineage controls glioblastoma stem cell function, we present a cross-species epigenome analysis of mouse and human glioblastoma stem cells. We analyze and compare the chromatin-accessibility landscape of nine mouse glioblastoma stem cell cultures of three defined origins and 60 patient-derived glioblastoma stem cell cultures by assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing. This separates the mouse cultures according to cell of origin and identifies three human glioblastoma stem cell clusters that show overlapping characteristics with each of the mouse groups, and a distribution along an axis of proneural to mesenchymal phenotypes. The epigenetic-based human glioblastoma stem cell clusters display distinct functional properties and can separate patient survival. Cross-species analyses reveals conserved epigenetic regulation of mouse and human glioblastoma stem cells. We conclude that epigenetic control of glioblastoma stem cells primarily is dictated by developmental origin which impacts clinically relevant glioblastoma stem cell properties and patient survival. The epigenetic regulation of glioblastoma stem cell (GSC) function remains poorly understood. Here, the authors compare the chromatin accessibility landscape of GSC cultures from mice and patients and suggest that the epigenome of GSCs is cell lineage-regulated and could predict patient survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Lu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-75108, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Naga Prathyusha Maturi
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University and Science for Life Laboratory, Rudbeck Laboratory, SE-75185, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Malin Jarvius
- Department of Medical Sciences, Cancer Pharmacology and Computational Medicine, Uppsala University and Science for Life Laboratory, SE-75185, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences and Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 591, SE-751 24, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Irem Yildirim
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University and Science for Life Laboratory, Rudbeck Laboratory, SE-75185, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Yonglong Dang
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-75108, Uppsala, Sweden.,Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Linxuan Zhao
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-75108, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Yuan Xie
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University and Science for Life Laboratory, Rudbeck Laboratory, SE-75185, Uppsala, Sweden.,Shaanxi Normal University, College of Life Sciences, Xi'an, 710119, China
| | - E-Jean Tan
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University and Science for Life Laboratory, Rudbeck Laboratory, SE-75185, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18A, SE-75236, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Pengwei Xing
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-75108, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Rolf Larsson
- Department of Medical Sciences, Cancer Pharmacology and Computational Medicine, Uppsala University and Science for Life Laboratory, SE-75185, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Mårten Fryknäs
- Department of Medical Sciences, Cancer Pharmacology and Computational Medicine, Uppsala University and Science for Life Laboratory, SE-75185, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Lene Uhrbom
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University and Science for Life Laboratory, Rudbeck Laboratory, SE-75185, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Xingqi Chen
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-75108, Uppsala, Sweden.
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30
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Yabo YA, Niclou SP, Golebiewska A. Cancer cell heterogeneity and plasticity: A paradigm shift in glioblastoma. Neuro Oncol 2021; 24:669-682. [PMID: 34932099 PMCID: PMC9071273 DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noab269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity has emerged as a major contributor to intra-tumoral heterogeneity and treatment resistance in cancer. Increasing evidence shows that glioblastoma (GBM) cells display prominent intrinsic plasticity and reversibly adapt to dynamic microenvironmental conditions. Limited genetic evolution at recurrence further suggests that resistance mechanisms also largely operate at the phenotypic level. Here we review recent literature underpinning the role of GBM plasticity in creating gradients of heterogeneous cells including those that carry cancer stem cell (CSC) properties. A historical perspective from the hierarchical to the nonhierarchical concept of CSCs towards the recent appreciation of GBM plasticity is provided. Cellular states interact dynamically with each other and with the surrounding brain to shape a flexible tumor ecosystem, which enables swift adaptation to external pressure including treatment. We present the key components regulating intra-tumoral phenotypic heterogeneity and the equilibrium of phenotypic states, including genetic, epigenetic, and microenvironmental factors. We further discuss plasticity in the context of intrinsic tumor resistance, where a variable balance between preexisting resistant cells and adaptive persisters leads to reversible adaptation upon treatment. Innovative efforts targeting regulators of plasticity and mechanisms of state transitions towards treatment-resistant states are needed to restrict the adaptive capacities of GBM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yahaya A Yabo
- NORLUX Neuro-Oncology Laboratory, Department of Oncology, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Luxembourg, Luxembourg.,Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Simone P Niclou
- NORLUX Neuro-Oncology Laboratory, Department of Oncology, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Luxembourg, Luxembourg.,Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Anna Golebiewska
- Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
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31
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Andersen BM, Faust Akl C, Wheeler MA, Chiocca EA, Reardon DA, Quintana FJ. Glial and myeloid heterogeneity in the brain tumour microenvironment. Nat Rev Cancer 2021; 21:786-802. [PMID: 34584243 PMCID: PMC8616823 DOI: 10.1038/s41568-021-00397-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Brain cancers carry bleak prognoses, with therapeutic advances helping only a minority of patients over the past decade. The brain tumour microenvironment (TME) is highly immunosuppressive and differs from that of other malignancies as a result of the glial, neural and immune cell populations that constitute it. Until recently, the study of the brain TME was limited by the lack of methods to de-convolute this complex system at the single-cell level. However, novel technical approaches have begun to reveal the immunosuppressive and tumour-promoting properties of distinct glial and myeloid cell populations in the TME, identifying new therapeutic opportunities. Here, we discuss the immune modulatory functions of microglia, monocyte-derived macrophages and astrocytes in brain metastases and glioma, highlighting their disease-associated heterogeneity and drawing from the insights gained by studying these malignancies and other neurological disorders. Lastly, we consider potential approaches for the therapeutic modulation of the brain TME.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian M Andersen
- Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Neuro-Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Camilo Faust Akl
- Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Michael A Wheeler
- Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - E Antonio Chiocca
- Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - David A Reardon
- Center for Neuro-Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Francisco J Quintana
- Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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32
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Chaligne R, Gaiti F, Silverbush D, Schiffman JS, Weisman HR, Kluegel L, Gritsch S, Deochand SD, Gonzalez Castro LN, Richman AR, Klughammer J, Biancalani T, Muus C, Sheridan C, Alonso A, Izzo F, Park J, Rozenblatt-Rosen O, Regev A, Suvà ML, Landau DA. Epigenetic encoding, heritability and plasticity of glioma transcriptional cell states. Nat Genet 2021; 53:1469-1479. [PMID: 34594037 PMCID: PMC8675181 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-021-00927-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Single-cell RNA sequencing has revealed extensive transcriptional cell state diversity in cancer, often observed independently of genetic heterogeneity, raising the central question of how malignant cell states are encoded epigenetically. To address this, here we performed multiomics single-cell profiling-integrating DNA methylation, transcriptome and genotype within the same cells-of diffuse gliomas, tumors characterized by defined transcriptional cell state diversity. Direct comparison of the epigenetic profiles of distinct cell states revealed key switches for state transitions recapitulating neurodevelopmental trajectories and highlighted dysregulated epigenetic mechanisms underlying gliomagenesis. We further developed a quantitative framework to directly measure cell state heritability and transition dynamics based on high-resolution lineage trees in human samples. We demonstrated heritability of malignant cell states, with key differences in hierarchal and plastic cell state architectures in IDH-mutant glioma versus IDH-wild-type glioblastoma, respectively. This work provides a framework anchoring transcriptional cancer cell states in their epigenetic encoding, inheritance and transition dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronan Chaligne
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA
- Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Federico Gaiti
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA
- Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Dana Silverbush
- Department of Pathology and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Joshua S Schiffman
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA
- Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Hannah R Weisman
- Department of Pathology and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Lloyd Kluegel
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA
- Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Simon Gritsch
- Department of Pathology and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Sunil D Deochand
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA
- Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - L Nicolas Gonzalez Castro
- Department of Pathology and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Neuro-Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alyssa R Richman
- Department of Pathology and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | | | - Christoph Muus
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | | | - Franco Izzo
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA
- Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jane Park
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA
- Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Orit Rozenblatt-Rosen
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Genentech, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Aviv Regev
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Department of Biology, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Genentech, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Mario L Suvà
- Department of Pathology and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Dan A Landau
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA.
- Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
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33
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Barkley D, Rao A, Pour M, França GS, Yanai I. Cancer cell states and emergent properties of the dynamic tumor system. Genome Res 2021; 31:1719-1727. [PMID: 34599005 PMCID: PMC8494223 DOI: 10.1101/gr.275308.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Phenotypic heterogeneity within malignant cells of a tumor is emerging as a key property of tumorigenesis. Recent work using single-cell transcriptomics has led to the identification of distinct cancer cell states across a range of cancer types, but their functional relevance and the advantage that they provide to the tumor as a system remain elusive. We present here a definition of cancer cell states in terms of coherently and differentially expressed gene modules and review the origins, dynamics, and impact of states on the tumor system as a whole. The spectrum of cell states taken on by a malignant population may depend on cellular lineage, epigenetic history, genetic mutations, or environmental cues, which has implications for the relative stability or plasticity of individual states. Finally, evidence has emerged that malignant cells in different states may cooperate or compete within a tumor niche, thereby providing an evolutionary advantage to the tumor through increased immune evasion, drug resistance, or invasiveness. Uncovering the mechanisms that govern the origin and dynamics of cancer cell states in tumorigenesis may shed light on how heterogeneity contributes to tumor fitness and highlight vulnerabilities that can be exploited for therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dalia Barkley
- Institute for Computational Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York, New York 10016, USA
| | - Anjali Rao
- Institute for Computational Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York, New York 10016, USA
| | - Maayan Pour
- Institute for Computational Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York, New York 10016, USA
| | - Gustavo S França
- Institute for Computational Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York, New York 10016, USA
| | - Itai Yanai
- Institute for Computational Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York, New York 10016, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, NYU Langone Health, New York, New York 10016, USA
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34
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Deregulation of Transcriptional Enhancers in Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13143532. [PMID: 34298745 PMCID: PMC8303223 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13143532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Revised: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary One of the major challenges in cancer treatments is the dynamic adaptation of tumor cells to cancer therapies. In this regard, tumor cells can modify their response to environmental cues without altering their DNA sequence. This cell plasticity enables cells to undergo morphological and functional changes, for example, during the process of tumour metastasis or when acquiring resistance to cancer therapies. Central to cell plasticity, are the dynamic changes in gene expression that are controlled by a set of molecular switches called enhancers. Enhancers are DNA elements that determine when, where and to what extent genes should be switched on and off. Thus, defects in enhancer function can disrupt the gene expression program and can lead to tumour formation. Here, we review how enhancers control the activity of cancer-associated genes and how defects in these regulatory elements contribute to cell plasticity in cancer. Understanding enhancer (de)regulation can provide new strategies for modulating cell plasticity in tumour cells and can open new research avenues for cancer therapy. Abstract Epigenetic regulations can shape a cell’s identity by reversible modifications of the chromatin that ultimately control gene expression in response to internal and external cues. In this review, we first discuss the concept of cell plasticity in cancer, a process that is directly controlled by epigenetic mechanisms, with a particular focus on transcriptional enhancers as the cornerstone of epigenetic regulation. In the second part, we discuss mechanisms of enhancer deregulation in adult stem cells and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), as two paradigms of cell plasticity that are dependent on epigenetic regulation and serve as major sources of tumour heterogeneity. Finally, we review how genetic variations at enhancers and their epigenetic modifiers contribute to tumourigenesis, and we highlight examples of cancer drugs that target epigenetic modifications at enhancers.
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35
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Bode D, Cull AH, Rubio-Lara JA, Kent DG. Exploiting Single-Cell Tools in Gene and Cell Therapy. Front Immunol 2021; 12:702636. [PMID: 34322133 PMCID: PMC8312222 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.702636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Single-cell molecular tools have been developed at an incredible pace over the last five years as sequencing costs continue to drop and numerous molecular assays have been coupled to sequencing readouts. This rapid period of technological development has facilitated the delineation of individual molecular characteristics including the genome, transcriptome, epigenome, and proteome of individual cells, leading to an unprecedented resolution of the molecular networks governing complex biological systems. The immense power of single-cell molecular screens has been particularly highlighted through work in systems where cellular heterogeneity is a key feature, such as stem cell biology, immunology, and tumor cell biology. Single-cell-omics technologies have already contributed to the identification of novel disease biomarkers, cellular subsets, therapeutic targets and diagnostics, many of which would have been undetectable by bulk sequencing approaches. More recently, efforts to integrate single-cell multi-omics with single cell functional output and/or physical location have been challenging but have led to substantial advances. Perhaps most excitingly, there are emerging opportunities to reach beyond the description of static cellular states with recent advances in modulation of cells through CRISPR technology, in particular with the development of base editors which greatly raises the prospect of cell and gene therapies. In this review, we provide a brief overview of emerging single-cell technologies and discuss current developments in integrating single-cell molecular screens and performing single-cell multi-omics for clinical applications. We also discuss how single-cell molecular assays can be usefully combined with functional data to unpick the mechanism of cellular decision-making. Finally, we reflect upon the introduction of spatial transcriptomics and proteomics, its complementary role with single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and potential application in cellular and gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Bode
- Wellcome Medical Research Council (MRC) Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Alyssa H. Cull
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Juan A. Rubio-Lara
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - David G. Kent
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
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36
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Park JH, de Lomana ALG, Marzese DM, Juarez T, Feroze A, Hothi P, Cobbs C, Patel AP, Kesari S, Huang S, Baliga NS. A Systems Approach to Brain Tumor Treatment. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:3152. [PMID: 34202449 PMCID: PMC8269017 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13133152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain tumors are among the most lethal tumors. Glioblastoma, the most frequent primary brain tumor in adults, has a median survival time of approximately 15 months after diagnosis or a five-year survival rate of 10%; the recurrence rate is nearly 90%. Unfortunately, this prognosis has not improved for several decades. The lack of progress in the treatment of brain tumors has been attributed to their high rate of primary therapy resistance. Challenges such as pronounced inter-patient variability, intratumoral heterogeneity, and drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier hinder progress. A comprehensive, multiscale understanding of the disease, from the molecular to the whole tumor level, is needed to address the intratumor heterogeneity resulting from the coexistence of a diversity of neoplastic and non-neoplastic cell types in the tumor tissue. By contrast, inter-patient variability must be addressed by subtyping brain tumors to stratify patients and identify the best-matched drug(s) and therapies for a particular patient or cohort of patients. Accomplishing these diverse tasks will require a new framework, one involving a systems perspective in assessing the immense complexity of brain tumors. This would in turn entail a shift in how clinical medicine interfaces with the rapidly advancing high-throughput (HTP) technologies that have enabled the omics-scale profiling of molecular features of brain tumors from the single-cell to the tissue level. However, several gaps must be closed before such a framework can fulfill the promise of precision and personalized medicine for brain tumors. Ultimately, the goal is to integrate seamlessly multiscale systems analyses of patient tumors and clinical medicine. Accomplishing this goal would facilitate the rational design of therapeutic strategies matched to the characteristics of patients and their tumors. Here, we discuss some of the technologies, methodologies, and computational tools that will facilitate the realization of this vision to practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- James H. Park
- Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; (J.H.P.); (S.H.)
| | | | - Diego M. Marzese
- Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (IdISBa), 07010 Palma, Spain;
| | - Tiffany Juarez
- St. John’s Cancer Institute, Santa Monica, CA 90401, USA; (T.J.); (S.K.)
| | - Abdullah Feroze
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; (A.F.); (A.P.P.)
| | - Parvinder Hothi
- Swedish Neuroscience Institute, Seattle, WA 98122, USA; (P.H.); (C.C.)
- Ben and Catherine Ivy Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment, Seattle, WA 98122, USA
| | - Charles Cobbs
- Swedish Neuroscience Institute, Seattle, WA 98122, USA; (P.H.); (C.C.)
- Ben and Catherine Ivy Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment, Seattle, WA 98122, USA
| | - Anoop P. Patel
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; (A.F.); (A.P.P.)
- Human Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
- Brotman-Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Santosh Kesari
- St. John’s Cancer Institute, Santa Monica, CA 90401, USA; (T.J.); (S.K.)
| | - Sui Huang
- Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; (J.H.P.); (S.H.)
| | - Nitin S. Baliga
- Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; (J.H.P.); (S.H.)
- Departments of Microbiology, Biology, and Molecular Engineering Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
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37
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Werbowetski-Ogilvie TE. From sorting to sequencing in the molecular era: the evolution of the cancer stem cell model in medulloblastoma. FEBS J 2021; 289:1765-1778. [PMID: 33714236 DOI: 10.1111/febs.15817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The cancer stem cell (CSC) model posits that tumors contain subpopulations that display defining features of normal stem cells including self-renewal capacity and differentiation. Tumor cells exhibiting these features are now considered to be responsible for tumor propagation and drug resistance in a wide variety of cancers. Therefore, the identification of robust CSC markers and characterization of CSC-specific molecular signatures may lead to the identification of novel therapeutics that selectively abolish this clinically relevant cell population while preserving normal tissue. Brain tumor researchers have been at the forefront of the CSC field. From initial in vitro cell sorting experiments to the sophisticated bioinformatic technologies that now exquisitely resolve primary brain tumors at a single-cell level, recent glioma and medulloblastoma (MB) studies have integrated developmental state with genomic and transcriptome data to identify the spectrum of cell types that may drive tumor progression. This review will examine the last two decades of CSC studies in the field. Seminal discoveries, emerging controversies, and outstanding questions will be covered with a particular focus on MB, the most common malignant primary brain tumor in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamra E Werbowetski-Ogilvie
- Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics and Regenerative Medicine Program, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.,Research Institute in Oncology and Hematology, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
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