IMR Press / FBL / Volume 29 / Issue 3 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2903100
Open Access Original Research
Single-Cell Transcriptome Analysis of Small Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of the Endometrium Reveals ISL1 as a Potential Biomarker for Diagnosis and Treatment
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1 Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Clinical and Translational Research Center of Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 200120 Shanghai, China
2 Department of Pharmacy, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 200433 Shanghai, China
3 Department of Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University School of Medicine, 200433 Shanghai, China
4 Department of Gynecologic Oncology, International Peace Maternity & Child Health Hospital of China Welfare Institute, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 200030 Shanghai, China
5 Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 200433 Shanghai, China
*Correspondence: 730001269@shsmu.edu.cn (Jing Wan); liuyin@tongji.edu.cn (Yin Liu); liyiran2007@gmail.com (Yiran Li)
These authors contributed equally.
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2024, 29(3), 100; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2903100
Submitted: 5 September 2023 | Revised: 19 January 2024 | Accepted: 29 January 2024 | Published: 13 March 2024
Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: As a dedifferentiated tumor, small cell endometrial neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are rare and frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage with a poor prognosis. Current treatment recommendations are often extrapolated from histologically similar tumors in other sites or based on retrospective studies. The exploration for diagnostic and therapeutic markers in small cell NETs is of great significance. Methods: In this study, we conducted single-cell RNA sequencing on a specimen obtained from a patient diagnosed with small cell endometrial neuroendocrine carcinoma (SCNEC) based on pathology. We revealed the cell map and intratumoral heterogeneity of the cancer cells through data analysis. Further, we validated the function of ISL LIM Homeobox 1 (ISL1) in vitro in an established neuroendocrine cell line. Finally, we examined the association between ISL1 and tumor staging in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patient samples. Results: We observed the significant upregulation of ISL1 expression in tumor cells that showed high expression of the neuroepithelial markers. Additionally, in vitro cell function experiments demonstrated that the high ISL1 expression group exhibited markedly higher cell proliferation and migration abilities compared to the low expression group. Finally, we showed that the expression level of ISL1 was correlated with SCLC stages. Conclusions: ISL1 protein in NETs shows promise as a potential biomarker for diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords
uterine neuroendocrine tumors
single-cell RNA sequencing
ISL1
cell proliferation and migration
Funding
81972438/National Natural Science Foundation of China
82172975/National Natural Science Foundation of China
31801111/National Natural Science Foundation of China
32270952/National Natural Science Foundation of China
32070583/National Natural Science Foundation of China
SHDC2020CR5003-002/Project of the Development Center of Shanghai Shenkang Hospital
SHDC12020107/Project of Clinical Science and Technology Innovation Project of Shanghai Shenkang Hospital Development Center
PW2021D-06/Special Project of Health Industry of Pudong New Area Health Commission
fkyq1910/Dream Mentor-Outstanding Young Talents Program of Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital
202208-2274/2021 Shanghai “Medical Garden Rising Stars” Young Medical Talents of Shanghai Municipal Health Commission Award
22QC1400700/2021 Shanghai “Medical Garden Rising Stars” Young Medical Talents of Shanghai Municipal Health Commission Award
22PJD063/Shanghai Pujiang Program
Figures
Fig. 1.
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