Reconstructing the regulatory programs underlying the phenotypic plasticity of neural cancers

Abstract Nervous system cancers exhibit diverse transcriptional cell states influenced by normal development, injury response, and growth. However, the understanding of these states’ regulation and pharmacological relevance remains limited. Here we present “single-cell regulatory-driven clustering”...

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Main Authors: Ida Larsson, Felix Held, Gergana Popova, Alper Koc, Soumi Kundu, Rebecka Jörnsten, Sven Nelander
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2024-11-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53954-3
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author Ida Larsson
Felix Held
Gergana Popova
Alper Koc
Soumi Kundu
Rebecka Jörnsten
Sven Nelander
author_facet Ida Larsson
Felix Held
Gergana Popova
Alper Koc
Soumi Kundu
Rebecka Jörnsten
Sven Nelander
author_sort Ida Larsson
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Nervous system cancers exhibit diverse transcriptional cell states influenced by normal development, injury response, and growth. However, the understanding of these states’ regulation and pharmacological relevance remains limited. Here we present “single-cell regulatory-driven clustering” (scregclust), a method that reconstructs cellular regulatory programs from extensive collections of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from both tumors and developing tissues. The algorithm efficiently divides target genes into modules, predicting key transcription factors and kinases with minimal computational time. Applying this method to adult and childhood brain cancers, we identify critical regulators and suggest interventions that could improve temozolomide treatment in glioblastoma. Additionally, our integrative analysis reveals a meta-module regulated by SPI1 and IRF8 linked to an immune-mediated mesenchymal-like state. Finally, scregclust’s flexibility is demonstrated across 15 tumor types, uncovering both pan-cancer and specific regulators. The algorithm is provided as an easy-to-use R package that facilitates the exploration of regulatory programs underlying cell plasticity.
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spelling doaj-art-4ec1fa55454340b1a41163e31467fa982025-08-20T02:13:28ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-11-0115111910.1038/s41467-024-53954-3Reconstructing the regulatory programs underlying the phenotypic plasticity of neural cancersIda Larsson0Felix Held1Gergana Popova2Alper Koc3Soumi Kundu4Rebecka Jörnsten5Sven Nelander6Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala UniversityMathematical Sciences, Chalmers University of TechnologyDepartment of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala UniversityDepartment of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala UniversityDepartment of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala UniversityMathematical Sciences, Chalmers University of TechnologyDepartment of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala UniversityAbstract Nervous system cancers exhibit diverse transcriptional cell states influenced by normal development, injury response, and growth. However, the understanding of these states’ regulation and pharmacological relevance remains limited. Here we present “single-cell regulatory-driven clustering” (scregclust), a method that reconstructs cellular regulatory programs from extensive collections of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from both tumors and developing tissues. The algorithm efficiently divides target genes into modules, predicting key transcription factors and kinases with minimal computational time. Applying this method to adult and childhood brain cancers, we identify critical regulators and suggest interventions that could improve temozolomide treatment in glioblastoma. Additionally, our integrative analysis reveals a meta-module regulated by SPI1 and IRF8 linked to an immune-mediated mesenchymal-like state. Finally, scregclust’s flexibility is demonstrated across 15 tumor types, uncovering both pan-cancer and specific regulators. The algorithm is provided as an easy-to-use R package that facilitates the exploration of regulatory programs underlying cell plasticity.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53954-3
spellingShingle Ida Larsson
Felix Held
Gergana Popova
Alper Koc
Soumi Kundu
Rebecka Jörnsten
Sven Nelander
Reconstructing the regulatory programs underlying the phenotypic plasticity of neural cancers
Nature Communications
title Reconstructing the regulatory programs underlying the phenotypic plasticity of neural cancers
title_full Reconstructing the regulatory programs underlying the phenotypic plasticity of neural cancers
title_fullStr Reconstructing the regulatory programs underlying the phenotypic plasticity of neural cancers
title_full_unstemmed Reconstructing the regulatory programs underlying the phenotypic plasticity of neural cancers
title_short Reconstructing the regulatory programs underlying the phenotypic plasticity of neural cancers
title_sort reconstructing the regulatory programs underlying the phenotypic plasticity of neural cancers
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53954-3
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