Abstract
Melanoma brain metastasis (MBM) frequently occurs in patients with advanced melanoma; yet, our understanding of the underlying salient biology is rudimentary. Here, we performed single-cell/nucleus RNA-seq in 22 treatment-naive MBMs and 10 extracranial melanoma metastases (ECMs) and matched spatial single-cell transcriptomics and T cell receptor (TCR)-seq. Cancer cells from MBM were more chromosomally unstable, adopted a neuronal-like cell state, and enriched for spatially variably expressed metabolic pathways. Key observations were validated in independent patient cohorts, patient-derived MBM/ECM xenograft models, RNA/ATAC-seq, proteomics, and multiplexed imaging. Integrated spatial analyses revealed distinct geography of putative cancer immune evasion and evidence for more abundant intra-tumoral B to plasma cell differentiation in lymphoid aggregates in MBM. MBM harbored larger fractions of monocyte-derived macrophages and dysfunctional TOX+CD8+ T cells with distinct expression of immune checkpoints. This work provides comprehensive insights into MBM biology and serves as a foundational resource for further discovery and therapeutic exploration.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2591-2608.e30 |
Journal | Cell |
Volume | 185 |
Issue number | 14 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 7 2022 |
Keywords
- brain metastasis
- chromosomal instability
- melanoma
- neuronal-like cell state
- single-cell genomics
- spatial transcriptomics
- tumor-microenvironment
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology