We developed phase-switch microfluidic devices for molecular profiling of a large number of single cells. Whole genome microarrays and RNA-sequencing are commonly used to determine the expression levels of genes in cell lysates (a physical mix of millions of cells) for inferring gene functions. However, cellular heterogeneity becomes an inherent noise in the measurement of gene expression. The unique molecular characteristics of individual cells, as well as the temporal and quantitative information of gene expression in cells, are lost when averaged among all cells in cell lysates. Our single-cell technology overcomes this limitation and enables us to obtain a large number of single-cell transcriptomes from a population of cells. A collection of single-cell molecular profiles allows us to study carcinogenesis from an evolutionary perspective by treating cancer as a diverse population of cells with abnormal molecular characteristics. Because a cancer cell population contains cells at various stages of development toward drug resistance, clustering similar single-cell molecular profiles could reveal how drug-resistant sub-clones evolve during cancer treatment. Here, we discuss how single-cell transcriptome analysis technology could enable the study of carcinogenesis from an evolutionary perspective and the development of drug-resistance in leukemia. The single-cell transcriptome analysis reported here could have a direct and significant impact on current cancer treatments and future personalized cancer therapies.
Carcinogenesis ; genetics ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; metabolism ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques ; Single-Cell Analysis ; methods ; Transcriptome

OBJECTIVE：To study the effects o f CYP2C9*3 gene polymorphism on therapeutic efficacy of benzbromarone in lowering uric acid and its hepatotoxicity. METHODS ：A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the relevant clinical indicators and genotypes of 196 gout patients who received benzbromarone and CYP2C9*3 gene polymorphism test in Wuhan third hospital from Jan. 2018 to Sept. 2019. RESULTS ：Among 196 patients，179，15 and 2 patients with CYP2C9*3 genotypes * 1/*1， *1/*3 and * 3/*3 genotypes were found ，respectively，and the distribution of each genotype was in line with Hardy-Weinberg balance（P＞0.05）. Before treatment ，there were no significant differences in the levels of UA ，Scr，ALT，AST and CRP between *1/*1 genotype and * 1/*3+*3/*3 genotype（P＞0.05）. After 4 weeks of treatment ，the UA ，Scr，CRP levels of patients with * 1/*1 genotype as well as the UA and CRP levels of patients with * 1/*3+*3/*3 genotype were significantly reduced ，the UA level of patients with * 1/*1 genotype was significantly lower than that of patients with * 1/*3+*3/*3 genotype（P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The ALT and AST levels had no obvious changes in patients with different genotype before and after treatment ，and they were in the normal range. No serious abnormal liver function was observed during the treatment. CONCLUSIONS ：Therapeutic efficacy of benzbromarone in lowering uric acid in gout patients with CYP2C9*3 genotypes * 1/*1 genotype is better than that of * 1/*3 and * 3/*3 genotypes. However ，the gene polymorphism may be not associated with its hepatotoxicity.