Single-cell Transcriptomics in Pediatric Ependymoma
Mentor: Mariella Filbin
Brain tumors contain many diverse cancer cell types with variable capacities of proliferation, self-renewal, invasion and metabolism, as well as an abundance of normal cells in the tumor microenvironment. To date, most studies on pediatric brain tumors have focused on whole exome sequencing, DNA methylation, and RNAseq data for disease classification. Far less is known about cell identity changes that contribute to intrinsic and acquired resistance to therapy (and treatment failure), and about communication of tumor cells with the microenvironment, both of which are critically important for understanding how tumor cells promote growth and regulate host immunity. Current bulk sequencing approaches have not fully interrogated these critical aspects of the tumor biology and very little has been studied at the level of single-cell analysis. Furthermore, recent publications suggest that single-cell analysis could also be used to study the cell of origin of cancers. Therefore, the primary aim of this project is to identify the cellular architecture of pediatric ependymoma at the single-cell level in patient samples
