- Data-Guided Modeling of Cancer and Intratumor Heterogeneity
- Project Year:
2021
- REU Student (s):
Sivasomasundari Arunarasu | Emory University GA
- Student 1 Institution:
Emory University
- Project Mentor:
Subhajyoti De
- Project Mentor Area:
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey
- Project Abstract:
Although all cells in a tumor come from one original mutated cell, there is genetic, nongenetic, and microenvironmental variation among these cells, referred to as intratumor heterogeneity. Nongenetic heterogeneity, which includes epigenetic changes, is closely related to the cancer stem cell (CSC) model, which states that certain tumor cells are characteristic of regular stem cells, and are likely to contribute to tumor survival and regrowth after treatment. Being able to identify phenotypic features that can classify tumor cells into a stemlike and differentiated state can help to better understand the CSC model, and the characteristics of cancer stem cells. Using the data of cells grown from the T24 cell line, PCA (principal component analysis) and UMAP analysis in R was used to group tumor cells into two different classes, which are thought to correspond with more holoclone (stemlike) and more differentiated cells. This classification can be used to analyze the colony makeup of other tumors, and might help determine the likelihood that a tumor will regenerate after treatment, based on the proportion or density of holoclone and meroclone-like cells.
