Finding MES: A hidden cell state in neuroblastoma.

Patel et al. integrate bulk and single-cell RNA-seq with spatial transcriptomics and spatial proteomics to reveal distinct adrenergic and mesenchymal tumor cell populations in neuroblastoma xenografts and annotated tumors.

• Why it matters: Neuroblastoma tumor cell states and their spatial organization are not fully resolved, limiting how well molecular signatures can be linked to in vivo biology and patient outcomes.
• What they did: They combine bulk and single-cell/single-nucleus RNA sequencing with spatial transcriptomics and spatial proteomics across neuroblastoma patient-derived xenografts and annotated tumors.
• The result: The study identifies adrenergic and mesenchymal signatures, distinct tumor cell populations in vivo, and associations with patient outcomes, supporting MES as a hidden cell state.