Fig. 3: LNM cells persist after transplantation.
a Tumors derived from Braf CA/+ and Braf CA/+; PtenΔ/+ mouse models were passaged by transplantation onto NSG (immune deficient) mice. Created in BioRender. Shiu, J. (2025) https://BioRender.com/m4kraw3. b Single-cell gene expression profiles were used to subcluster NC-derived cell clusters (32,611 cells), among which principal tumor, melanocyte and LNM clusters were identified. UMAP visualizations of cell-types and sample distribution are shown. rd = Round of transplantation. Tx = transplant. c Gene expression profiles of the NC-derived clusters identified in (b). Gene signatures shared among LNM1 and LNM2 are labeled in black. Each column in the heatmap represents a cell from the corresponding group. d 182,950 cells from Braf CA/+ and Braf CA/+; PtenΔ/+ primary tumors (n = 9) and transplanted NSG tumors (n = 6) were subjected to single-cell RNA-seq. UMAP visualization of cell-types is shown. e Ridge plots of Aqp1 and Sox2 expression. Note the high expression of Aqp1 and Sox2 in both LNM1 and LNM2, compared to other cell types present in the whole skin. Percentages on the side denote the fraction of cells expressing Aqp1 and Sox2 in each cell type, respectively. Exp.: Expression. f Conditional Sox2 deletion in melanocytic/NC-derived cells inhibits tumor development. Tumor incidence in mice of the indicated genotypes is shown, and each dot represents an individual biological replicate; error bars represent the group mean ± SD. Tumor numbers were compared using an unpaired two-tailed t-test. Asterisks denote statistical significance: p < 0.05 (*), p < 0.01 (**); ns: not significant. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
