A cellular hierarchy in melanoma uncouples growth and metastasis.
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IF: 69.504
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Cited by: 47
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Datasets
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Abstract

Although melanoma is notorious for its high degree of heterogeneity and plasticity1,2, the origin and magnitude of cell-state diversity remains poorly understood. Equally, it is unclear whether growth and metastatic dissemination are supported by overlapping or distinct melanoma subpopulations. Here, by combining mouse genetics, single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, lineage tracing and quantitative modelling, we provide evidence of a hierarchical model of tumour growth that mirrors the cellular and molecular logic underlying the cell-fate specification and differentiation of the embryonic neural crest. We show that tumorigenic competence is associated with a spatially localized perivascular niche, a phenotype acquired through an intercellular communication pathway established by endothelial cells. Consistent with a model in which only a fraction of cells are fated to fuel growth, temporal single-cell tracing of a population of melanoma cells with a mesenchymal-like state revealed that these cells do not contribute to primary tumour growth but, instead, constitute a pool of metastatic initiating cells that switch cell identity while disseminating to secondary organs. Our data provide a spatially and temporally resolved map of the diversity and trajectories of melanoma cell states and suggest that the ability to support growth and metastasis are limited to distinct pools of cells. The observation that these phenotypic competencies can be dynamically acquired after exposure to specific niche signals warrant the development of therapeutic strategies that interfere with the cancer cell reprogramming activity of such microenvironmental cues.

Keywords

Spatial Transcriptomics

MeSH terms

Animals
Cell Communication
Cell Differentiation
Cell Lineage
Cell Proliferation
Cell Tracking
Cellular Reprogramming
Endothelial Cells
Melanoma
Mesoderm
Mice
Neoplasm Metastasis
Neural Crest
Phenotype
Single-Cell Analysis
Transcriptome
Tumor Microenvironment

Authors

Karras, Panagiotis
Bordeu, Ignacio
Pozniak, Joanna
Nowosad, Ada
Pazzi, Cecilia
Van Raemdonck, Nina
Landeloos, Ewout
Van Herck, Yannick
Pedri, Dennis
Bervoets, Greet
Makhzami, Samira
Khoo, Jia Hui
Pavie, Benjamin
Lamote, Jochen
Marin-Bejar, Oskar
Dewaele, Michael
Liang, Han
Zhang, Xingju
Hua, Yichao
Wouters, Jasper
Browaeys, Robin
Bergers, Gabriele
Saeys, Yvan
Bosisio, Francesca
van den Oord, Joost
Lambrechts, Diether
Rustgi, Anil K
Bechter, Oliver
Blanpain, Cedric
Simons, Benjamin D
Rambow, Florian
Marine, Jean-Christophe