Cellular barcoding tracks heterogeneous clones through selective pressures and phenotypic transitions

Kennedy K Howland; Amy Brock

doi:10.1016/j.trecan.2023.03.008

Cellular barcoding tracks heterogeneous clones through selective pressures and phenotypic transitions

Trends Cancer. 2023 Jul;9(7):591-601. doi: 10.1016/j.trecan.2023.03.008. Epub 2023 Apr 25.

Authors

Kennedy K Howland¹, Amy Brock²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78734, USA.
² Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78734, USA. Electronic address: amy.brock@utexas.edu.

Abstract

Genomic DNA barcoding has emerged as a sensitive and flexible tool to measure the fates of clonal subpopulations within a heterogeneous cancer cell population. Coupling cellular barcoding with single-cell transcriptomics permits the longitudinal analysis of molecular mechanisms with detailed clone-level resolution. Numerous recent studies have employed these tools to track clonal cell states in cancer progression and treatment response. With these new technologies comes the opportunity to examine longstanding questions about the origins and contributions of tumor cell heterogeneity and the roles of selection and phenotypic plasticity in disease progression and treatment.

Keywords: barcoding; drug resistance; phenotypic plasticity; tumor evolution; tumor heterogeneity.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Clone Cells / pathology
Disease Progression
Humans
Neoplasms* / genetics
Neoplasms* / pathology

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding