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Decoding the Tumor Microenvironment: Insights and New Targets from Single-Cell Sequencing and Spatial Transcriptomics
Shriya Pattabiram1, Prakash Gangadaran2,3, Sanjana Dhayalan1
1Department of Genetic Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur 603 203, Tamilnadu, India.
Current Issues in Molecular Biology
|September 29, 2025
Summary
Advanced techniques like single-cell sequencing and spatial transcriptomics are revolutionizing cancer research. These methods dissect the tumor microenvironment, revealing intricate cellular interactions and spatial dynamics crucial for developing targeted oncology treatments.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Bioinformatics
Background:
- Cancer research extensively studies treatments for improved efficacy.
- Understanding tumor progression, angiogenesis, and therapy resistance is critical.
- Conventional diagnostic methods lack the resolution to reveal tumor microenvironment (TME) heterogeneity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review advanced techniques transforming cancer comprehension.
- To highlight signaling pathways driving tumor progression and resistance.
- To explore methods for characterizing pathways within the TME.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on advanced cancer research techniques.
- Focus on single-cell sequencing (SCS) for individual cell profiling.
- Emphasis on spatial transcriptomics (ST) for mapping gene expression within tissues.
Main Results:
- Identified key pathways: VEGF, PD-1/PD-L1, CTLA-4, and ECM pathways.
- SCS captures unique genetic profiles, rare cell types, and therapeutic targets.
- ST provides spatial gene expression maps, revealing localized cellular interactions.
Conclusions:
- SCS and ST offer unprecedented resolution for dissecting TME complexity.
- These technologies enable uncovering intricate networks influencing tumor heterogeneity.
- Mapping gene expression spatially at a single-cell level advances oncology research.
