Chromosomal instability shapes spatial and temporal phenotypic diversity in a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour

Authors

Yan, H., Demeulemeester, J., Verfaillie, A., Cheng, Y., Pan, Y., Cotobal Martin, C., Ward, S., Stein, A., Lesluyes, T., Kaufmann, T., Schwarz, R. F., Voet, T., Swanton, C., Zaccaria, S., Flanagan, A. M., Tarabichi, M., Van Loo, P.

Abstract

Understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of tumour evolution is crucial for determining the drivers of cancer progression. Linking genotype to phenotype across a tumour remains challenging, however. Here, we use single-cell and spatial multi-omics to comprehensively profile a primary malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour (MPNST) and its multifocal recurrence. Combining the native barcoding system from extensive heterogeneity in copy number alterations with mutation data, we resolve the evolutionary tree of this tumour, revealing a branching structure suggestive of ongoing chromosomal instability. We show that gene dosage effects contribute to phenotypic diversity and scale predominantly linearly with copy number. Using spatial genomics assisted by laser capture microdissection and spatial transcriptomics, we performed in situ lineage tracing in this human tumour, elucidating the relationship between local expansions and interactions between tumour cells and the microenvironment. These findings demonstrate the potential of combined bulk, single-cell and spatial techniques to dissect cancer evolution in time and space and link genotype to phenotype in detail.

Preprint server: bioRxiv
The authors list and abstract were imported from bioRxiv on 19 Aug 2026.

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