Single cell transcriptomes from human kidneys reveal the cellular identity of renal tumors

摘要

Messenger RNA encodes cellular function and phenotype. In the context of human cancer it defines the identity of malignant cells and diversity of tumor tissue. We studied 72,501 single cell transcriptomes of human renal tumors and normal tissue from fetal, pediatric and adult kidneys. We matched childhood Wilms’ tumor with specific fetal cell types, thus providing evidence for the hypothesis that Wilms’ tumor cells are aberrant fetal cells. In adult renal cell carcinoma we identified a canonical cancer transcriptome that matched a little known subtype of proximal convoluted tubular cell. Analyses of the tumor composition defined cancer-associated normal cells and delineated a complex VEGF signaling circuit. Our findings reveal the precise cellular identity and composition of human kidney tumors.