Pan-cancer single-cell RNA-seq identifies recurring programs of cellular heterogeneity.

Cultured cell lines are the workhorse of cancer research, but the extent to which they recapitulate the heterogeneity observed among malignant cells in tumors is unclear. Here we used multiplexed single-cell RNA-seq to profile 198 cancer cell lines from 22 cancer types. We identified 12 expression programs that are recurrently heterogeneous within multiple cancer cell lines.

IKKε regulates the breast cancer stem cell phenotype.

The Inhibitor of Nuclear Factor Kappa B Kinase Subunit Epsilon (IKKε) is an oncogenic protein that is up-regulated in various types of human cancers, including breast tumors. This kinase regulates diverse processes associated with malignant progression including proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. To delve into the molecular mechanisms regulated by this kinase we performed RNA-seq and network analysis of breast cancer cells overexpressing IKKε.