Spatially and functionally distinct subclasses of breast cancer-associated fibroblasts revealed by single cell RNA sequencing.

ABSTRACT: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are a major constituent of the tumor microenvironment, although their origin and roles in shaping disease initiation, progression and treatment response remain unclear due to significant heterogeneity. Here, following a negative selection strategy combined with single-cell RNA sequencing of 768 transcriptomes of mesenchymal cells from a genetically engineered mouse model of breast cancer, we define three distinct subpopulations of CAFs. Validation at the transcriptional and protein level in several experimental models of cancer and human tumors reveal spatial separation of the CAF subclasses attributable to different origins, including the peri-vascular niche, the mammary fat pad and the transformed epithelium. Gene profiles for each CAF subtype correla

SUBMITTER: Bartoschek M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6279758 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature