biorxiv.org· Chien, M.-P., Ghadiri Rad, R., Huang, J., Lopez-Cascales, M. T., You, L., Traets, J. J. H., Bellomo, D., Chou, T.-C., Bennik, W., Singh, J., Begce, Y., Hardillo, J. A. U., Vadgama, D., van den Bosch, T., van Dis, V. ·2026-10-16 08:00· 20 hours agoPickScore59

Behavior-coupled single-cell transcriptomics reveals trafficking protein-dependent regulation of tumor cell migration

In brief

A live-cell imaging-guided platform, behavior-coupled single-cell sequencing (BC-seq), profiles individual tumor cells by migratory behavior, separating fast- from slow-migrating cells in 10 HPV-negative oral squamous cell carcinomas. It traces aggressive migration to cholesterol-regulated trafficking involving SREBP2, STARD4, Cavin1/3 and VEGFR2; blocking STARD4 or Cavin1/3-dependent VEGFR2 nuclear translocation impairs migration. A 15-gene signature from fast-migrating cells predicted distant metastasis with 83.6% accuracy in an independent OSCC cohort, beating conventional risk stratification.

Why it matters

It links migration behavior to cholesterol-trafficking machinery and yields a metastasis-predicting signature for OSCC.

Source: biorxiv.org · biorxiv.org

#Preprint #Oncology #Single-cell & spatial