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Single-nuclei gene-expression analysis of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma links tumor subtypes with tumor microenvironment

ABSTRACT: Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PCPG) are rare neuroendocrine tumors associated with autonomic nerves. We used single nuclei-RNA-seq (snRNA-seq) for analysis of 30 PCPG representing 13 known driver genes, plus two normal adrenal medullas to dissect cell composition, refine PCPG subtypes and compare PCPG and normal tissue expression. Incorporating bulk-tissue and snRNA-seq data we identified seven PCPG gene-expression subtypes with genotype and cell type associations. The tumor microenvironment reflected HIF pathway activation and neovascularization by detection of abundant tip-like endothelial cells and pericytes concordant with VEGFA expression in neoplastic cells with mutations in VHL, genes encoding SDH subunits and MAML3-fusions. Macrophages were abundant in PCPG with distinct tumor-associated features. Schwann-cell-like cells were also enriched in some subtypes. The transcriptional profile of neoplastic PCPG cells resembled normal chromaffin cells but early chromaffin and neuroblast cell markers were expressed in some subtypes including GPR139, a putative therapeutic target for a subset of pseudohypoxic PCPG.

PROVIDER: EGAS00001005861 | EGA |

REPOSITORIES: EGA

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Project description:Plexiform neurofibroma (PN) are a leading cause of morbidity in Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1), often disfiguring or threatening vital structures. During formation of PN, a complex tumor microenvironment (TME) develops, with recruitment of neoplastic and non-neoplastic cell types being critical for growth and progression. Due to the cohesive cellularity of PN, single-cell RNA-sequencing is difficult and may result in a loss of detection of critical cellular subpopulations, therefor single-nuclei RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq) was applied retrospectively to 8 frozen PN, a large enough sample cohort required to adequately describe the disease TME. Additionally, 4 frozen PN samples were OCT embedded and spatial transcriptomics (ST) was run, adding morphological context to the transcriptomic data generated. Our snRNA-seq analysis definitively charted the heterogeneous cellular subpopulations in the PN TME, with the predominant fraction being fibroblast-like cells. PN have a remarkable amount of inter-sample homogeneity regarding cellular subpopulation proportions despite being resected from a variety of anatomical locations. ST analysis identified distinct cellular subpopulations which were annotated using snRNA-seq data that correlated with histological features. Schwann cell/fibroblast interactions were further characterized by receptor/ligand interaction analysis (CellChat) that was applied to snRNA-seq data. A high probability of Neurexin 1/Neuroligin 1 (NRXN1/NRGLN1) receptor-ligand crosstalk was predicted between non-myelinated Schwann cells (NM_SC) and fibroblast subpopulations, respectively. We observed aberrant expression of NRXN1 and NRGLN1 in our snRNA-seq data versus normal mouse sciatic nerve. This pathway has never been described in PN but has been observed in other NF1-associated tumors and may indicate a clear and direct communication pathway between putative NM_SC cells of origin and surrounding fibroblasts, potentially driving disease progression. SnRNA-seq integrated with spatial transcriptomics advances our understanding of the complex cellular heterogeneity of PN. These data identify potential novel communication pathways that may drive disease progression, a finding that could provide translational therapy options for patients with these devastating tumors of childhood and early adulthood.

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Single-nuclei gene-expression analysis of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma links tumor subtypes with tumor microenvironment

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