metsDB: A Knowledgebase of Cancer Metastasis at Bulk, Single-Cell and Spatial Levels

Authors

Sijia Wu
Jiajin Zhang
Yanfei Wang
Xinyu Qin
Zhaocan Zhang
Zhennan Lu
Pora Kim
Xiaobo Zhou
Liyu Huang

Publication Date

1-6-2025

Journal

Nucleic Acids Research

Abstract

Cancer metastasis, the process by which tumour cells migrate and colonize distant organs from a primary site, is responsible for the majority of cancer-related deaths. Understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this complex process is essential for developing effective metastasis prevention and therapy strategies. To this end, we systematically analysed 1786 bulk tissue samples from 13 cancer types, 988 463 single cells from 17 cancer types, and 40 252 spots from 45 spatial slides across 10 cancer types. The results of these analyses are compiled in the metsDB database, accessible at https://relab.xidian.edu.cn/metsDB/. This database provides insights into alterations in cell constitutions, cell relationships, biological pathways, molecular biomarkers, and drug responses during cancer metastasis at bulk, single-cell, and spatial levels. Users can perform cell or gene searches to obtain multi-view and multi-scale metastasis-related data. This comprehensive resource is invaluable for understanding the metastasis process and for designing molecular therapies.

Keywords

Humans, Single-Cell Analysis, Neoplasm Metastasis, Neoplasms, Knowledge Bases, Biomarkers, Tumor, Databases, Genetic

DOI

10.1093/nar/gkae916

PMID

39436035

PMCID

PMC11701579

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

1-6-2025

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Published Open-Access

yes