SAKE (Single-cell RNA-Seq Analysis and Klustering Evaluation) Identifies Markers of Resistance to Targeted BRAF Inhibitors in Melanoma Cell Populations. Homo sapiens isolate:451Lu is a selected xenograft aggressive metastatic sub-line of WM164. WM164 is a metastatic human melanoma cell line established from a metastatic site (right upper arm) in a 22-year-old male with stage IV superficial spreading melanoma. 451Lu cell line features the specific V600E (Val600Glu) mutation at codon 600 in the BRAF gene.

The goal of this study is to apply the SAKE algorithms to identify drug-resistant cellular populations as human melanoma cells respond to targeted BRAF inhibitors. Single-cell RNA-Seq data from 10x Genomics platform was analyzed to dissect this problem at multiple scales. Data indicates that BRAF inhibitor resistant cells can emerge from rare populations already present before drug application, with SAKE identifying both novel and known markers of resistance