Single-Cell and Multi-Omics Profiling of the Multiple Myeloma Immune Niche: From Bone Marrow Architecture and Metabolic Reprogramming to Immunotherapy Response

Multiple myeloma (MM) is increasingly understood as a spatially organized and dynamically evolving disease, in which malignant plasma-cell behavior is shaped by local immune, stromal, vascular, and metabolic contexts. Single-cell, spatial, and multi-omic technologies have resolved tumor-cell heterogeneity, bone marrow niche remodeling, immune dysfunction, and therapy-induced selection at unprecedented resolution, yet an integrated synthesis linking marrow architecture, extramedullary dissemination, circulating tumor cells, metabolic reprogramming, chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell and T-cell-redirecting immunotherapy, and stem-cell transplantation remains lacking. Here, we review how malignant subclones occupy distinct marrow regions, focal lesions, and extramedullary sites with different transcriptional, antigenic, immune-interactive, and metabolic states. We discuss how spatial transcriptomics and multiplexed imaging reveal immune exclusion, stromal support, oxidative and glycolytic niches, and region-specific antigen heterogeneity. We further examine how circulating tumor cells serve as liquid readouts of tumor burden, high-risk genomics, and clonal evolution. Emphasis is placed on CAR T-cell and T-cell engager therapies, where response and resistance depend on antigen retention, effector-cell fitness, clonal T-cell expansion, myeloid suppression, and spatial accessibility. Finally, we consider autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation as a clinical model of cytoreduction, lymphodepletion, and incomplete immune reconstitution. We propose that MM progression and relapse should be interpreted through an integrated spatial-temporal framework, in which therapeutic outcome reflects the interaction between malignant plasma-cell plasticity, immune competence, stromal persistence, metabolic adaptation, and residual disease localization.

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Publication Details

Journal
Cancers
Published
2026-09-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18193158
Primary Topic
Multiple Myeloma Research and Treatments
Type
article
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article

Single-Cell and Multi-Omics Profiling of the Multiple Myeloma Immune Niche: From Bone Marrow Architecture and Metabolic Reprogramming to Immunotherapy Response

Katia Beider, Olga Ostrovsky, Arnon Nagler
Cancers
Multiple Myeloma Research and Treatments
article

Single-Cell and Multi-Omics Profiling of the Multiple Myeloma Immune Niche: From Bone Marrow Architecture and Metabolic Reprogramming to Immunotherapy Response

Katia Beider, Olga Ostrovsky, Arnon Nagler
article en

Abstract

Multiple myeloma (MM) is increasingly understood as a spatially organized and dynamically evolving disease, in which malignant plasma-cell behavior is shaped by local immune, stromal, vascular, and metabolic contexts. Single-cell, spatial, and multi-omic technologies have resolved tumor-cell heterogeneity, bone marrow niche remodeling, immune dysfunction, and therapy-induced selection at unprecedented resolution, yet an integrated synthesis linking marrow architecture, extramedullary dissemination, circulating tumor cells, metabolic reprogramming, chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell and T-cell-redirecting immunotherapy, and stem-cell transplantation remains lacking. Here, we review how malignant subclones occupy distinct marrow regions, focal lesions, and extramedullary sites with different transcriptional, antigenic, immune-interactive, and metabolic states. We discuss how spatial transcriptomics and multiplexed imaging reveal immune exclusion, stromal support, oxidative and glycolytic niches, and region-specific antigen heterogeneity. We further examine how circulating tumor cells serve as liquid readouts of tumor burden, high-risk genomics, and clonal evolution. Emphasis is placed on CAR T-cell and T-cell engager therapies, where response and resistance depend on antigen retention, effector-cell fitness, clonal T-cell expansion, myeloid suppression, and spatial accessibility. Finally, we consider autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation as a clinical model of cytoreduction, lymphodepletion, and incomplete immune reconstitution. We propose that MM progression and relapse should be interpreted through an integrated spatial-temporal framework, in which therapeutic outcome reflects the interaction between malignant plasma-cell plasticity, immune competence, stromal persistence, metabolic adaptation, and residual disease localization.

CancersVol. 18(19)
Jerusalem College of Technology (IL), Azrieli College of Engineering Jerusalem (IL), Sheba Medical Center (IL), Jerusalem University College (IL)
Reduced inequalities
Openalex Percentile: Top 11%
Multiple Myeloma Research and Treatments
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