Functional analysis of cell plasticity using single-cell technologies.

Cell plasticity describes the ability of cells to alter their phenotypes in response to external stimuli without changing their genotypes. Cell plasticity is essential for metazoan tissue biology and has significant clinical implications. The study of cell plasticity requires experimental models that are amenable to systematic functional perturbations. Single-cell technologies enable the study of cell plasticity across multiple modalities, allowing the construction of functional plasticity phenoscapes. Metazoan organisms are heterocellular systems composed of hundreds of different cell types, which arise from an isogenic genome through differentiation. Cellular 'plasticity' further enables cells to alter their fate in response to exogenous cues and is involved in a variety of processes, such as wound healing, infection, and cancer. Recent advances in cellular model systems, high-dimensional single-cell technologies, and lineage tracing have sparked a renaissance in plasticity research. Here, we discuss the definition of cell plasticity, evaluate state-of-the-art model systems and techniques to study cell-fate dynamics, and explore the application of single-cell technologies to obtain functional insights into cell plasticity in healthy and diseased tissues. The integration of advanced biomimetic model systems, single-cell technologies, and high-throughput perturbation studies is enabling a new era of research into non-genetic plasticity in metazoan systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]