Inna Averbukh

All Publications

• SPATIALLY-RESOLVED TRANSCRIPTOME ANALYSIS OF BRAIN METASTATIC BREAST CANCER REVEAL KEY MEDIATORS OF BRAIN-TROPIC METASTATIC POTENTIAL Umeh-Garcia, M., Godfrey, B., Perez, P., Varma, S., Ahmadian, S., Toland, A., Granucci, M., Averbukh, I., Tian, L., West, R., Angelo, M., Plevritis, S., Gephart, M. OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC. 2023

  View details for Web of Science ID 001115245401351

• A spatially resolved timeline of the human maternal-fetal interface. Nature Greenbaum, S., Averbukh, I., Soon, E., Rizzuto, G., Baranski, A., Greenwald, N. F., Kagel, A., Bosse, M., Jaswa, E. G., Khair, Z., Kwok, S., Warshawsky, S., Piyadasa, H., Goldston, M., Spence, A., Miller, G., Schwartz, M., Graf, W., Van Valen, D., Winn, V. D., Hollmann, T., Keren, L., van de Rijn, M., Angelo, M. 2023; 619 (7970): 595-605

  Abstract

  Beginning in the first trimester, fetally derived extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs) invade the uterus and remodel its spiral arteries, transforming them into large, dilated blood vessels. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain how EVTs coordinate with the maternal decidua to promote a tissue microenvironment conducive to spiral artery remodelling (SAR)1-3. However, it remains a matter of debate regarding which immune and stromal cells participate in these interactions and how this evolves with respect to gestational age. Here we used a multiomics approach, combining the strengths of spatial proteomics and transcriptomics, to construct a spatiotemporal atlas of the human maternal-fetal interface in the first half of pregnancy. We used multiplexed ion beam imaging by time-of-flight and a 37-plex antibody panel to analyse around 500,000 cells and 588 arteries within intact decidua from 66 individuals between 6 and 20 weeks of gestation, integrating this dataset with co-registered transcriptomics profiles. Gestational age substantially influenced the frequency of maternal immune and stromal cells, with tolerogenic subsets expressing CD206, CD163, TIM-3, galectin-9 and IDO-1 becoming increasingly enriched and colocalized at later time points. By contrast, SAR progression preferentially correlated with EVT invasion and was transcriptionally defined by 78 gene ontology pathways exhibiting distinct monotonic and biphasic trends. Last, we developed an integrated model of SAR whereby invasion is accompanied by the upregulation of pro-angiogenic, immunoregulatory EVT programmes that promote interactions with the vascular endothelium while avoiding the activation of maternal immune cells.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41586-023-06298-9

  View details for PubMedID 37468587

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10356615

• Supervised dimensionality reduction for exploration of single-cell data by HSS-LDA. Patterns (New York, N.Y.) Amouzgar, M., Glass, D. R., Baskar, R., Averbukh, I., Kimmey, S. C., Tsai, A. G., Hartmann, F. J., Bendall, S. C. 2022; 3 (8): 100536

  Abstract

  Single-cell technologies generate large, high-dimensional datasets encompassing a diversity of omics. Dimensionality reduction captures the structure and heterogeneity of the original dataset, creating low-dimensional visualizations that contribute to the human understanding of data. Existing algorithms are typically unsupervised, using measured features to generate manifolds, disregarding known biological labels such as cell type or experimental time point. We repurpose the classification algorithm, linear discriminant analysis (LDA), for supervised dimensionality reduction of single-cell data. LDA identifies linear combinations of predictors that optimally separate a priori classes, enabling the study of specific aspects of cellular heterogeneity. We implement feature selection by hybrid subset selection (HSS) and demonstrate that this computationally efficient approach generates non-stochastic, interpretable axesamenable to diverse biological processes such as differentiation over time and cell cycle. We benchmark HSS-LDA against several popular dimensionality-reduction algorithms and illustrate its utility and versatility for the exploration of single-cell mass cytometry, transcriptomics, and chromatin accessibility data.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.patter.2022.100536

  View details for PubMedID 36033591

• Transition to invasive breast cancer is associated with progressive changes in the structure and composition of tumor stroma. Cell Risom, T., Glass, D. R., Averbukh, I., Liu, C. C., Baranski, A., Kagel, A., McCaffrey, E. F., Greenwald, N. F., Rivero-Gutiérrez, B., Strand, S. H., Varma, S., Kong, A., Keren, L., Srivastava, S., Zhu, C., Khair, Z., Veis, D. J., Deschryver, K., Vennam, S., Maley, C., Hwang, E. S., Marks, J. R., Bendall, S. C., Colditz, G. A., West, R. B., Angelo, M. 2022; 185 (2): 299-310.e18

  Abstract

  Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a pre-invasive lesion that is thought to be a precursor to invasive breast cancer (IBC). To understand the changes in the tumor microenvironment (TME) accompanying transition to IBC, we used multiplexed ion beam imaging by time of flight (MIBI-TOF) and a 37-plex antibody staining panel to interrogate 79 clinically annotated surgical resections using machine learning tools for cell segmentation, pixel-based clustering, and object morphometrics. Comparison of normal breast with patient-matched DCIS and IBC revealed coordinated transitions between four TME states that were delineated based on the location and function of myoepithelium, fibroblasts, and immune cells. Surprisingly, myoepithelial disruption was more advanced in DCIS patients that did not develop IBC, suggesting this process could be protective against recurrence. Taken together, this HTAN Breast PreCancer Atlas study offers insight into drivers of IBC relapse and emphasizes the importance of the TME in regulating these processes.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2021.12.023

  View details for PubMedID 35063072

• Evaluation of Geuenich et al.: Targeting a crucial bottleneck for analyzing single-cell multiplexed imaging data. Cell systems Averbukh, I., Greenwald, N. F., Liu, C. C., Angelo, M. 2021; 12 (12): 1121-1123

  Abstract

  One snapshot of the peer review process for "Automated assignment of cell identity from single-cell multiplexed imaging and proteomic data" (Geuenich et al., 2021).

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.cels.2021.11.003

  View details for PubMedID 34914901