Page 18 - EJMO-9-1

Eurasian Journal of Medicine and
Oncology
Single-cell RNA-seq in malignant skin tumors

scMet has been developed to facilitate the deconvolution clinical research, ultimately advancing our understanding
of bulk RNA-Seq data into single-cell RNA-Seq profiles. of tumor diversity and progression.
This method provided unique spatial insights into
metabolic heterogeneity in the microenvironment of Acknowledgments
renal cell tumors. While this method provides valuable We thank all the authors of the cited references. Graphs
insights into the relative proportions of major cell types were created using BioRender.
within a sample, it has notable limitations. For instance,
it cannot accurately capture the detailed composition Funding
and dynamic changes of the TME, nor does it provide a This study is jointly supported by the Natural Science
comprehensive view of the molecular alterations within Foundation of China (grant no. 32200523), Chongqing
the microenvironment or the complex interactions Natural Science Foundation (grant no. CSTB2023NSCQ-
between cells. Another team integrated scRNA-seq, bulk MSX0658), the Fundamental Research Funds for the
RNA-seq, whole exome sequencing, DNA methylation Central Universities (grant no. 2023CDJYGRH-YB05),
analysis, spatial transcriptomics, and spatial proteomics Chongqing Wanzhou Municipal Science, and Health
to create a comprehensive cellular map of neuroblastoma. Joint Medical Research Project General Program
Methylation analysis revealed heterogeneity of (wzstc-kw2023004).
neuroblastoma malignancy, while spatial analysis showed
immune cells adjacent to stromal cells, separated from Conflict of interest
proliferating sympathetic neuroblastoma and adrenergic
89
neuron cells. Therefore, future advancements in single- The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
cell sequencing technology, coupled with its integration Author contributions
with other omics approaches, will continue to drive
progress in skin tumor research, providing novel insights Conceptualization: Mingzhu Yin, Xin Li
for diagnosis and prevention. 90-92 Data curation: Lanlan Liu, Jie Sun
Formal analysis: All authors
7. Conclusion Funding acquisition: Chunlan Hu
Single-cell technology represents a significant Investigation: All authors
advancement in the life sciences, allowing researchers to Methodology: All authors
transition from tissue-level to cellular-level research. The Project administration: Xin Li, Mingzhu Yin
rapid development of this technology has greatly enhanced Supervision: Xin Li, Mingzhu Yin
our understanding of the heterogeneity of skin tumor cells Visualization: Lanlan Liu
and the intricate TME. Immunotherapy targeting the Writing – original draft: Jie Sun, Lanlan Liu, Xin Li
TME has shown powerful therapeutic effects in various Writing – review & editing: Mingzhu Yin, Xin Li, Jie Sun,
cancers, including skin tumors. The integration of single- Lanlan Liu
cell technology with other omics approaches allows a more Ethics approval and consent to participate
comprehensive exploration of the cellular heterogeneity
composition and complex cell-to-cell interactions within Not applicable.
the TME. This integration provides unique insights
into the mechanisms underlying tumor development Consent for publication
and spread, facilitating the prediction of individualized Not applicable.
treatment responses, the discovery of new therapeutic
strategies, and the enhancement of treatment efficacy. Availability of data
However, there are several challenges within this field, such Not applicable.
as the efficiency of single-cell isolation and capture, the
complexity of single-cell sequencing data, the static nature References
of current technologies, limited spatial resolution, and the
scarcity of certain cell populations. These issues could lead 1. Dlugosz A, Merlino G, Yuspa SH. Progress in cutaneous
cancer research. J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc. 2002;7(1):
to misleading results. While scRNA-seq has become an 17-26.
important tool in cancer research, further improvements
are needed in both the precision of the technology and doi: 10.1046/j.1523-1747.2002.19631.x
the methods for data analysis. Enhancing these aspects 2. Sawada Y, Nakamura M. Daily lifestyle and cutaneous
will allow single-cell technology to play a greater role in malignancies. Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22(10):5227.

Volume 9 Issue 1 (2025) 10 doi: 10.36922/ejmo.5809