From The Pathologist by Tian Yu
The accurate identification of cellular phenotype, intercellular signaling networks, and the spatial arrangement of cells within organs is critical to providing a deeper understanding of physiological processes and the disruptions that cause disease. Cellular heterogeneity is a common feature of many malignancies – and so, techniques that allow us to detect and characterize oncologic cellular heterogeneity can help advance cancer diagnostics and therapies.
One promising technology for characterizing cellular heterogeneity is single-cell sequencing. Conventional bulk sequencing methods use many cells, but lose cell heterogeneity information after the signals are summarized and averaged. Conversely, single-cell techniques use next-generation sequencing to analyze the genetic content of individual cells, providing valuable insights into their unique functional characteristics.
