According to a story from nbcnewyork.com, scientific research on cells was always a challenging task. Trying to study a certain trait used to mean looking at a tissue sample, which often meant encountering several different types of cells that made it difficult to identify the activity of a single type of cell. However, the advent of new approaches that allow researchers to look at genetic data and other characteristics of a single, individual cell has significant implications for medical research in rare diseases and beyond.
These approaches have already led to remarkable list of impressive discoveries that, just a few years ago, simply would not have been possible. Some of the research breakthroughs that have resulted from the study of individual cells include:
- A study which was able to recognize the genetic behavior of certain melanoma cancer cells, which made them capable of resisting the effects of immunotherapy. The identification of this pattern could lead to a new therapy that is able to circumvent the genetic mechanisms that melanoma uses to build resistance.
- The technology was used to monitor the development of fish and frog embryos. Scientists still don’t fully understand how a single, fertilized egg can eventually develop into an advanced, multicellular organism, and data from this research has allowed for critical progress.
- Scientists were able to further investigate the connection between a mother and child within the womb. These findings could improve our understanding of pregnancy-related problems like stillbirth.
In the rare disease field, there have also been a couple of pivotal studies related to the deadly rare disease cystic fibrosis. These studies were able to find a previously undiscovered cell type in the airway which heavily expressed the CFTR protein. This protein is linked to the CFTR gene, which is mutated in patients with cystic fibrosis. While prior research had suggested that such a cell was present, this research has decisively confirmed the theory.
Another massive goal that could be achieved using this technology is the creation of an encyclopedia of all of the different cell types that comprise the human body. A typical adult human’s body is made up of trillions of cells, and there are already many known types. The lining of the large intestine is known to have 50 different types of cells alone. This initiative would be a massive resource for researchers.
