Mei Shiqiang, Huang Jinjin, Zhang Zhen, Lei Haotian, Huang Qiaojuan, Qu Lianghu, Zheng Lingling
MOE Key Laboratory of Gene Function and Regulation, State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, Innovation Center for Evolutionary Synthetic Biology, School of Agriculture and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Feb 28;26(5):2208. doi: 10.3390/ijms26052208.
InfoScan is a novel bioinformatics tool designed for the comprehensive analysis of full-length single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. It enables the identification of unannotated transcripts and rare cell populations, providing a powerful platform for transcriptome characterization. In this study, InfoScan was applied to glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), identifying a rare "neoplastic-stemness" subpopulation exhibiting cancer stem cell-like features. Functional analyses suggested that tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) secrete SPP1, which binds to CD44 on neoplastic-stemness cells, activating the PI3K/AKT pathway and driving lncRNA transcription to promote metastasis. Integration of TCGA and CGGA datasets further supported these findings, highlighting key mutations associated with the neoplastic-stemness subpopulation. Drug sensitivity assays indicated that neoplastic-stemness cells might be sensitive to omipalisib, a PI3K inhibitor, pointing to a potential therapeutic target. InfoScan offers a robust framework for exploring complex transcriptomic landscapes and characterizing rare cell populations, providing valuable insights into GBM biology and advancing precision cancer therapy.
InfoScan是一种新型生物信息学工具，旨在对全长单细胞RNA测序（scRNA-seq）数据进行全面分析。它能够识别未注释的转录本和罕见细胞群体，为转录组表征提供了一个强大的平台。在本研究中，InfoScan应用于多形性胶质母细胞瘤（GBM），识别出一个表现出癌症干细胞样特征的罕见“肿瘤干性”亚群。功能分析表明，肿瘤相关巨噬细胞（TAM）分泌SPP1，其与肿瘤干细胞样细胞上的CD44结合，激活PI3K/AKT途径并驱动lncRNA转录以促进转移。整合TCGA和CGGA数据集进一步支持了这些发现，突出了与肿瘤干细胞样亚群相关的关键突变。药物敏感性分析表明，肿瘤干细胞样细胞可能对PI3K抑制剂omipalisib敏感，这指出了一个潜在的治疗靶点。InfoScan为探索复杂的转录组景观和表征罕见细胞群体提供了一个强大的框架，为GBM生物学提供了有价值的见解，并推动了精准癌症治疗的发展。
