CUPID-SEQ: HIGH THROUGHPUT TRANSCRIPTOMIC SPATIAL MAPPING OF MICRO-ENVIRONMENT IMMUNE-TUMOR INTERACTIONS

The development and progression of cancer is the result of the interplay of genetic characteristics of the tumor cells, and the complex interactions of the cancer cells with the different cells in the tumor microenvironment. Single-cell RNA-sequencing has been used to study the different cells in the microenvironment. Unfortunately, the interaction between the different cells (cancer and non-cancer) cannot be fully studied since tumor tissue samples are generally broken down prior to analyses. The co-leaders have proposed a novel single-cell RNA sequencing methodology which they call Cupid-seq. With Cupid-seq, the tissue samples are not dissociated completely. This enables scientists to sort and analyze cell doublets, e.g. tumor-immune doublets or immune-immune doublets.