The current landscape of single-cell transcriptomics for cancer immunotherapy
Open Access
- 18 December 2020
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Rockefeller University Press in The Journal of Experimental Medicine
- Vol. 218 (1)
- https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20201574
Abstract
Immunotherapies such as immune checkpoint blockade and adoptive cell transfer have revolutionized cancer treatment, but further progress is hindered by our limited understanding of tumor resistance mechanisms. Emerging technologies now enable the study of tumors at the single-cell level, providing unprecedented high-resolution insights into the genetic makeup of the tumor microenvironment and immune system that bulk genomics cannot fully capture. Here, we highlight the recent key findings of the use of single-cell RNA sequencing to deconvolute heterogeneous tumors and immune populations during immunotherapy. Single-cell RNA sequencing has identified new crucial factors and cellular subpopulations that either promote tumor progression or leave tumors vulnerable to immunotherapy. We anticipate that the strategic use of single-cell analytics will promote the development of the next generation of successful, rationally designed immunotherapeutics.Funding Information
- Laffey-McHugh Foundation
- Mark Foundation
- Gilead Sciences
- National Institutes of Health
- National Cancer Institute (R00-CA-212302-05)
- Emerson Collective
- Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation
- Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
- Lymphoma Research Foundation
This publication has 201 references indexed in Scilit:
- Smart-seq2 for sensitive full-length transcriptome profiling in single cellsNature Methods, 2013
- Full-length mRNA-Seq from single-cell levels of RNA and individual circulating tumor cellsNature Biotechnology, 2012
- The immune contexture in human tumours: impact on clinical outcomeNature Reviews Cancer, 2012
- Droplet microfluidics for high-throughput biological assaysLab on a Chip, 2012
- Double negative regulatory T cells in transplantation and autoimmunity: recent progress and future directionsJournal of Molecular Cell Biology, 2012
- CD3+CD4−CD8− (double negative) T cells: Saviours or villains of the immune response?Biochemical Pharmacology, 2011
- T cell exhaustionNature Immunology, 2011
- Hallmarks of Cancer: The Next GenerationCell, 2011
- mRNA-Seq whole-transcriptome analysis of a single cellNature Methods, 2009
- Increased Intratumor Vα24-Positive Natural Killer T Cells: A Prognostic Factor for Primary Colorectal CarcinomasClinical Cancer Research, 2005