RNA sequencing on circulating tumor cells from prostate cancer patients

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) undergo considerable stress in the bloodstream. To understand the underlying phenomenon, we conducted single-cell genomic or transcriptomic analyses of primary tumor cells shed in urine and CTCs in blood of prostate cancer patients. Of more than four hundred focal genomic alterations analyzed, increased and decreased copy-numbers of 113 recurrent regions were found in CTCs relative to primary tumor cells. Tumor cells with these pre-existing genomic alterations can be adaptively selected, allowing for transcription reprogramming during blood circulation. These regions harbored genes associated with oxidative phosphorylation machineries that are exploited by CTCs for alternative energy metabolism. Examination of prostate CTCs transcriptomic profile in single cell level