Spatial maps of prostate cancer transcriptomes reveal an unexplored landscape of heterogeneity

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04724-5
• Publication Date: 2018-06-14T12:09:09Z
• Authors: Emelie Berglund; Jonas Maaskola; Niklas Schultz; Stefanie Friedrich; Maja Marklund; Joseph Bergenstråhle; Firas Tarish; Anna Tanoglidi; Sanja Vickovic; Ludvig Larsson; Fredrik Salmén; Christoph Ogris; Karolina Wallenborg; Jens Lagergren; Patrik Ståhl; Erik Sonnhammer; Thomas Helleday; Joakim Lundeberg
• Keywords: Male; Prostatectomy; 0301 basic medicine; Cancer och onkologi; Science; Gene Expression Profiling; Q; Prostate; Computational Biology; Prostatic Neoplasms; Adenocarcinoma; Article; 3. Good health; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; 03 medical and health sciences; Cancer and Oncology; Disease Progression; Tumor Microenvironment; Humans; RNA, Messenger; Stromal Cells; Transcriptome

Intra-tumor heterogeneity is one of the biggest challenges in cancer treatment today. Here we investigate tissue-wide gene expression throughout a multifocal prostate using spatial transcriptomics (ST) technology. Utilizing novel approach for deconvolution, analyze transcriptomes nearly 6750 tissue regions and extract distinct profiles different components, such as stroma, normal PIN glands, immune cells cancer. We distinguish healthy diseased areas thereby provide insight into changes during progression Compared to pathologist annotations, delineate extent foci more accurately, interestingly without link histological changes. identify gradients stroma adjacent tumor that allow re-stratification microenvironment. The establishment these first step towards an unbiased view can serve dictionary future studies.