Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals detailed composition of two major types of brain tumor
"Our study redefines the cellular composition of two closely related gliomas characterized by mutations in the IDH gene -- astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas," says Mario Suvà, MD, PhD, of the MGH Department of Pathology and the Center for Cancer Research, co-senior author of the Science paper. "While we know these are genetically distinct tumor types, we did not know whether they had similar cells of origin or if their expression differences could be explained by genetics, by the cells from which they developed, or by the tumor microenvironment." Several recent studies, including The Cancer Genome Atlas, have identified mutations driving tumor growth and defined tumor subtypes based on analyzing gene expression in tissue samples that include both tumor cells and cells from the surrounding microenvironment. But the fact that these analyses are done in bulk pieces of tumors masks many critical pieces of information. Single-cell RNA sequencing, which measures R...