Research Briefing in 2024

Existing functional genomics datasets are European-centric. The Asian Immune Diversity Atlas incorporated single-cell RNA-sequencing data from approximately 1 million peripheral blood mononuclear cells from around 500 donors of diverse Asian ancestries. Mapping of splicing quantitative trait loci revealed context-specific regulation of alternative splicing, as well as cell-type and ancestry-specific genetic effects on complex diseases.

The SCHEMATIC resource combines CRISPR pairwise gene knockout experiments across tumor cell types with large-scale drug sensitivity assays to identify a core network of highly penetrant, synthetic lethal genetic interactions that can help to match individuals with cancer to targeted therapies.

Advancements in single-cell analysis technologies are enabling exploration of the intricacies of the human brain at unprecedented resolution. However, most research thus far has focused on the adult brain. Here, these tools are applied to reveal cell-type-specific gene-expression dynamics as the brain grows from childhood to adulthood.

Chromosomal instability plays a crucial part in tumor progression, shaping cancer cell phenotypes and driving treatment resistance. We harnessed two single-cell multiomics methods to characterize the heterogeneity of acute myeloid leukemia with complex karyotype (CK-AML). Our data link genetic, non-genetic and functional heterogeneity and reveal intriguing therapeutic sensitivities.

PopV is an ensemble method for cell type labeling in single-cell genomics. A Cell Ontology-inspired voting procedure across different algorithms highlights low confidence annotations, thereby guiding human-in-the loop components of the annotation process.

Using single-cell whole-genome sequencing, we reveal the landscape of copy number alterations in normal breast tissue from both BRCA carriers and wild-type individuals.

NKX3.1-expressing intermediate Basal-B cells represent a transient basal stem cell state during prostate regeneration, inflammation and cancer initiation. Remarkably, activation of JAK/STAT signaling is essential in regulating expansion and differentiation of Basal-B-like cells during prostate inflammation, identifying this signaling pathway as a potential therapeutic target in prostatitis associated with increased Basal-B signature.

The calcium-dependent protein kinase ZmCPK39 is identified as a key immune component in maize infected with foliar pathogens. Its expression is lower in resistant maize lines than in susceptible lines, leading to stabilization of the transcription factor ZmDi19, elevated expression of the anti-microbial protein ZmPR10 and enhanced resistance to multiple foliar diseases.

DNA variants arising in the genome of cancer cells are a major cause of therapy failure, but for most variants, their effects on drug response are unknown. Base-editing screens provide a systematic approach to uncover the functions of cancer variants at scale, which might help to inform the use of precision cancer therapies.

C-to-T mutations in CpG dinucleotides are widespread in cancers and are also observed in normal cells. By developing and using a technique to quantify DNA polymerase errors (polymerase error rate sequencing, PER-seq), we reveal that C-to-T mutations in CpG dinucleotides constitute part of the error signature of both wild-type and mutant cancer-associated DNA polymerase ε.

To understand the genetic basis of disease, it is essential to study diverse populations. We conducted the largest study to date of African men to evaluate the evolutionary genetics and causes of prostate cancer. Our findings reveal novel genetic associations, including those that were not observed in studies of non-African populations.

Immune recognition of cancers can be inhibited if the molecules that present cancer cell-specific antigens are disrupted. We have developed a tool that can detect four different types of disruption. Overall, we find that both genetic and non-genetic disruption of these molecules is common in lung and breast tumors.

Primary cell cultures need to be frequently passaged, which limits the study of long-term biological processes, such as how mutant clones colonize aging epithelia. Esophageal epithelioids self-maintain for months, recapitulating progenitor cell behavior in vivo. Epithelioid CRISPR–Cas9 screens reveal genes encoding molecules that control cell fitness.

We identified methylated tandem repeat expansions that resemble the FMR1 CGG repeat that causes fragile X syndrome and investigated their association with traits in the UK Biobank. AFF3 expansion carriers had a 2.4-fold reduced probability of completing secondary education and were enriched in a cohort of individuals with intellectual disability.

This study presents a spatial transcriptomic analysis of matched primary tumors, liver metastases and lymph node metastases from patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Using a tumor ecosystem approach, we uncovered notable tumor microenvironmental heterogeneity and marked differences between primary and metastatic samples, providing key insights into metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Blockade of primary genomic binding sites with small molecules causes redistribution of the transcription factor PU.1 to alternative binding sites; its transcriptional activity at these sites activates secondary gene networks that drive myeloid cell differentiation.

As we age, our cells acquire DNA mutations, resulting in cell-to-cell genomic heterogeneity. We characterized the landscape of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) heterogeneity in healthy human cells. Our observations provide deeper insight into the frequency of new mitochondrial mutations and the mechanisms that propagate low-level mutations in mtDNA over a lifetime.

We present a multi-omic map of the human kidney in health and disease, using single-cell RNA, single-nuclei RNA, single-nuclei assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing, spot-based and single-cell spatial transcriptomics. This comprehensive approach enables an in-depth understanding of the microenvironments in the diseased kidney.

Identifying substrates of metabolic gene products is important to understand their function in physiology and disease. We developed GeneMAP, a multiomics platform for predicting metabolic gene functions using models of gene expression. We experimentally validated a top-scoring gene–metabolite association, thereby revealing a role for SLC25A48 in mitochondrial choline import.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a deadly lung disease of unclear etiology, lacks sufficient therapeutic options. We extensively mapped the spatial transcriptomes of patient lungs and made translational comparisons with a mouse model of lung fibrosis, providing insights into disease mechanisms and the utility of the animal model for drug discovery.