E-MTAB-11722
scRNA-seq and differential expression analyses of metastatic melanoma cells before, during and after tumour escape
Highly invasive integrin and protease-independent amoeboid migration is often employed by cancer cells at the invasive front, though little is known about the transcriptomic changes underlying the switch to an amoeboid migratory mode. Using a metastatic melanoma cell line expressing photoconvertible Dendra2 protein (WM983c-D2), tumour spheroids were cultured in 3D collagen matrices and imaged over time. Spheroids grown from WM983c-D2 cells generate cells of three distinct phenotypes: 1) compact, non-invading cells organised at the spheroid surface with no visual cell protrusions, hereafter termed 'epithelial'; 2) cells still attached to the spheroid periphery that have commenced tumour escape, exhibiting cellular protrusions and an elongated phenotype, hereafter termed 'escaping'; 3) singly migrating cells exhibiting a rounded phenotype and no lamellipodia consistent with amoeboid cell migration, hereafter termed 'amoeboid'. Individual amoeboid and escaping cells, as well as groups of epithelial cells at the spheroid edge were photoconverted and single cell sorted via FACS following enzymatic digestion of the collagen matrix. 10 Epithelial, 12 escaping and 13 amoeboid cells were subjected to scRNA-seq and differential expression analyses in order to identify changes in gene expression as melanoma cells convert from a non-invasive epithelial state to invasive amoeboid cells.
Highly invasive integrin and protease-independent amoeboid migration is often employed by cancer cells at the invasive front, though little is known about the transcriptomic changes underlying the switch to an amoeboid migratory mode. Using a metastatic melanoma cell line expressing photoconvertible Dendra2 protein (WM983c-D2), tumour spheroids were cultured in 3D collagen matrices and imaged over time. Spheroids grown from WM983c-D2 cells generate cells of three distinct phenotypes: 1) compact, non-invading cells organised at the spheroid surface with no visual cell protrusions, hereafter termed 'epithelial'; 2) cells still attached to the spheroid periphery that have commenced tumour escape, exhibiting cellular protrusions and an elongated phenotype, hereafter termed 'escaping'; 3) singly migrating cells exhibiting a rounded phenotype and no lamellipodia consistent with amoeboid cell migration, hereafter termed 'amoeboid'. Individual amoeboid and escaping cells, as well as groups of epithelial cells at the spheroid edge were photoconverted and single cell sorted via FACS following enzymatic digestion of the collagen matrix. 10 Epithelial, 12 escaping and 13 amoeboid cells were subjected to scRNA-seq and differential expression analyses in order to identify changes in gene expression as melanoma cells convert from a non-invasive epithelial state to invasive amoeboid cells.