Sheridan, R. T. C. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2022

Nf1 deficiency accelerates mammary development and promotes luminal-basal plasticity

The tumor suppressor NF1 is a critical driver of sporadic breast cancer and NF-related breast cancers. We utilized distinct Nf1-deficient immunocompetent rat models to investigate Nf1 function in mammary development and homeostasis. Here we demonstrate that Nf1 deficiency dramatically accelerates mammary morphogenesis, alters TEB cell organization, and proliferation. Notably, we observed a shift in luminal-basal epithelial lineage commitment within Nf1-deficient lines with early tumor onset. In addition, we detected subpopulations of hybrid EMT cells (Ecad+/CK14+) within the invasive edge and stroma of Nf1-deficient tumors. Nf1 deficiency restricted luminal progenitor potential and resulted in gene expression changes associated with decreased cell adhesion and increased EMT signatures. Together our findings support a model in which Nf1 loss of function results in lineage plasticity throughout mammary morphogenesis and promotes EMT-mediated invasion. This study reveals a previously unknown role for the tumor suppressor neurofibromin in mammary homeostasis and phenotypic plasticity during breast cancer progression.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2022

STORM-seq Reveals Differentiation Trajectories of Primary Human Fallopian Tube Epithelium

Despite significant advances, current single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technologies often struggle with accurately detecting non-coding transcripts, achieving full-length RNA coverage, and/or resolving transcript-level complexity. Many are also difficult to implement or inaccessible without specialized liquid handlers, further limiting their utility. We present Single-cell TOtal RNA-seq Miniaturized (STORM-seq), a random- hexamer primed, ribo-reduced single-cell total RNA sequencing (sc-total-RNA-seq) protocol using standard laboratory equipment. Adapted as a kit, STORM-seq constructs sequence-ready libraries in one working day, producing the highest complexity scRNA- seq libraries to-date, robustly measuring transcript isoforms and clinically relevant gene fusions in single cells. STORM-seq faithfully reconstructs expression profiles of locus- level transposable elements (TEs), and provides high-resolution profiling of transient, low- abundance enhancer RNAs (eRNAs), offering a powerful tool to dissect single-cell gene regulatory networks in unprecedented detail. Applied to human fallopian tube epithelium, the improved transcriptional resolution reveals a putative progenitor-like population and intermediate cell states, shaped by TEs and non-coding RNAs.

molecular biology↗