Variability within rare cell states enables multiple paths towards drug resistance

Abstract

Molecular differences between individual cells can lead to dramatic differences in cell fate, such as death versus survival of cancer cells upon drug treatment. These originating differences remain largely hidden due to difficulties in determining precisely what variable molecular features lead to which cellular fates. Thus, we developed Rewind, a methodology that combines genetic barcoding with RNA FISH to directly capture rare cells that give rise to cellular behaviors of interest. Applied to BRAF^V600E melanoma, we trace drug-resistant cell fates back to single-cell gene expression differences in their drug-naive precursors (initial frequency of ∼1:1000-1:10,000 cells) and relative persistence of MAP-kinase signaling soon after drug treatment. Within this rare subpopulation, we uncover a rich substructure in which molecular differences between several distinct subpopulations predict future differences in phenotypic behavior, such as proliferative capacity of distinct resistant clones following drug treatment. Similarly, we show that treatments that modify the frequency of resistance can allow otherwise non-resistant cells in the drug-naive population to become resistant, and that these new populations are marked by the variable expression of distinct genes. Together, our results reveal the presence of hidden, rare-cell variability that can underlie a range of latent phenotypic outcomes upon drug exposure.