Abstract 3796: Investigating unbiased whole transcriptome high-resolution spatial interactions within tumor masses

Abstract

Abstract Tumor masses contain a diverse array of cell types, including both normal and tumor cells from different lineages, endothelial cells, and immune cells. Interactions among these cellular constituents and their spatial arrangements play a pivotal role in tumor development, progression, and metastasis. While single-cell analysis has provided valuable insights regarding the dissociated cellular composition of tumors, it falls short in elucidating the complex interplay of cell-cell interactions and spatial relationships that may drive tumor cellular behavior and gene expression. We used the Curio Seeker Spatial Mapping Kits to uncover those spatial relationships in human tumor samples. The method captured whole transcriptomes and preserved the spatial locations of tumor cells, infiltrating immune cells, and normal cells by self segregating gene expression signatures and unbiased clustering. Amongst other findings by using Curio Seeker, we identified areas of immune cell infiltrates that were devoid of tumor cells, signifying zones of potential anti-tumor response. The high spatial resolution, continuous gene expression maps from the Curio Seeker Spatial Mapping Kits reveal spatial interactions between different cellular populations that enable researchers to better understand how the interplay between tumor cell types and their cellular neighborhoods affect gene expression and tumor cell behavior. Citation Format: Marie M. Lee, Julie Wilhelmy, Thomas Ong, Wanxin Wang, Bertrand Yeung, Christina Chang, Christina Fan. Investigating unbiased whole transcriptome high-resolution spatial interactions within tumor masses [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 3796.