A Multi-Scale Spatial Atlas of Human Skin Links Cancer Cell States to Site of Origin

    April 2023 in “ Journal of Investigative Dermatology ”
    C. Ganier, B. Du-Harpur, G. Herrera-Oropeza, P. Mazin, A. Predeus, J. Gabriel, N. Harun, M. Blakeley, J. Darrigrand, A. Haiser, S. Wyles, T.J. Shaw, S. Teichmann, M. Haniffa, F.M. Watt, M. Lynch
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    Studysummary In this study, researchers developed a detailed spatial atlas of healthy human skin and basal cell carcinoma, revealing that basal cell carcinoma likely originates from hair follicles and involves expansion of specific fibroblast subpopulations found in healthy skin. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
    The study "1376 A multi-scale spatial atlas of human skin links cancer cell states to site of origin" created a comprehensive map of healthy skin and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) using single cell transcriptomics, in vivo optical coherence tomography, spatial global transcriptional profiling, and in situ sequencing. The research revealed that while cell populations are conserved between face and body skin, mesenchymal cell populations express HOX and neural crest gene signatures of their developmental origin. The spatial profiling supports a hair follicle origin for BCC and shows that cancer-associated fibroblasts are an expansion of a POSTN+ subpopulation associated with hair follicles in healthy skin. The study suggests that the identity of mesenchymal cell populations is regulated by signals from adjacent structures, and these signals are exploited to promote the expansion of skin cancer stroma.
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