10x Genomics’ three platforms featured in published study on breast tumors

10x Genomics announced that Nature Communications has published a 10x-conducted study using the Chromium Single Cell, Visium Spatial and Xenium In Situ platforms as part of an integrative approach to understand how tumor microenvironment differences influence invasiveness. In this study, the 10x scientists sought to untangle the complex heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment of a formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded – FFPE – breast cancer block using independent but complementary technologies. The researchers first defined the cellular composition of the sample using Chromium Single Cell Gene Expression Flex. Visium analysis was able to identify three spatially distinct tumor regions. Lastly, the team used the single cell spatial resolution of Xenium In Situ to more precisely map complex regions of the tumor where multiple cell types were present in very close proximity. Integration of the Chromium and Visium data enabled the three spatially distinct tumor domains to be correlated with specific clusters and differentially expressed genes, while Xenium provided the cell-type composition of the domains. After pinpointing the triple-positive receptor region in the sample in the Xenium data, the team was able to reexamine this region within the Visium data to assess differences in cellular composition and gene expression.