Label-free single-cell phenotyping to determine tumor cell heterogeneity in pancreatic cancer in real time.

ABSTRACT: Resistance to chemotherapy of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is largely driven by intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH) due to tumor cell plasticity and clonal diversity. To develop alternative strategies to overcome this defined mechanism of resistance, tools to monitor and quantify ITH in a rapid and scalable fashion are needed urgently. Here, we employed label-free digital holographic microscopy (DHM) to characterize ITH in PDAC. We established a robust experimental and machine learning analysis pipeline to perform single-cell phenotyping based on DHM-derived phase images of PDAC cells in suspension. Importantly, we were able to detect dynamic changes in tumor cell differentiation and heterogeneity of distinct PDAC subtypes upon induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and und

SUBMITTER: Wittenzellner K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12288891 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature