Cited by 473Single-cell and spatial transcriptomicsCancer Genomics and DiagnosticsAdvanced Proteomics Techniques and Applications

Single-cell analysis tools for drug discovery and development

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Heath, James R., Ribas, Antoni, Mischel, Paul S.·2016·Nature Reviews Drug Discovery

Abstract

The genetic, functional or compositional heterogeneity of healthy and diseased tissues presents major challenges in drug discovery and development. Such heterogeneity hinders the design of accurate disease models and can confound the interpretation of biomarker levels and of patient responses to specific therapies. The complex nature of virtually all tissues has motivated the development of tools for single-cell genomic, transcriptomic and multiplex proteomic analyses. Here, we review these tools and assess their advantages and limitations. Emerging applications of single cell analysis tools in drug discovery and development, particularly in the field of oncology, are discussed.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nrd.2015.16

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  • Single-cell RNA sequencing technology has enabled analysis of intercellular heterogeneity at fine resolution and breakthroughs in understanding disease mechanisms.

    “Recent significant advances in single-cell technologies, especially the single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology, have enabled the analysis of intercellular heterogeneity at a very fine resolution8,9 and helped us to have many breakthroughs in understanding disease mechanisms10, such as breast cancer11, liver cancer12 and COVID-1913.”

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Authors
Heath, J. R., Ribas, A., & Mischel, P. S.
Affiliations
  • California Institute of Technology (US)
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
  • University of California San Diego (US)
Corresponding author
Heath, James R.
Venue
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
Published
2015-12-16
Volume
15
Issue
3
Pages
204-216
ISSN
  • 1474-1776 (ISSN-L)
  • 1474-1784
OpenAlex
W2248179576
Cited by
473
References
173
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 51 · 2022: 39 · 2021: 43 · 2020: 56 · 2019: 61 · 2018: 75 · 2017: 56 · 2016: 20 · 2014: 1
FWCI
4.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Reviews Drug Discovery (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • CaltechAUTHORS (California Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5u54ca119347-03)
  • National Cancer Institute (5U54 CA119347, U54-CA119347, U54CA199090, R01CA170689)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS073831)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Spectroscopy › Advanced Proteomics Techniques and Applications
Keywords
single-cell analysis, drug discovery, drug development, cellular heterogeneity, single-cell genomics, single-cell transcriptomics, single-cell proteomics, multiplex proteomics, biomarkers, disease models
MeSH terms
Animals, Humans, Genomics, Proteomics, Drug Discovery, Single-Cell Analysis

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