A single-cell atlas of bladder cancer unveils dynamic cellular composition and endothelial functional shifts during progression.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Bladder cancer (BC) is characterized by high heterogeneity, with non-muscle-invasive (NMIBC) and muscle-invasive (MIBC) stages differing significantly in clinical behavior and outcomes. The transition from NMIBC to MIBC involves extensive tumor microenvironment (TME) remodeling, particularly in endothelial cells (ECs), which drive angiogenesis and modulate immune and extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions. However, the precise roles of ECs in this progression remain poorly defined.

Methods

Public single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) datasets from 47 BC patients were analyzed to characterize endothelial cell heterogeneity and functional states across NMIBC and MIBC. Computational tools such as CellChat were applied to reconstruct cell-cell communication networks, f

SUBMITTER: Song H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11982012 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature