摘要：SummaryHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common liver cancer with a high rate of metastasis. However, the molecular mechanisms that drive metastasis remain unclear. We combined single-cell transcriptomic, proteomic, and chromatin accessibility data to investigate how heterogeneous phenotypes contribute to metastatic potential in five HCC cell lines. We confirmed that the prevalence of a mesenchymal state and levels of cell proliferation are linked to the metastatic potential. We also identified a rare hypoxic subtype that has a higher capacity for glycolysis and exhibits dormant, invasive, and malignant characteristics. This subtype has increased metastatic potential. We further identified a robust 14-gene panel representing this hypoxia signature and this hypoxia signature could serve as a prognostic index. Our data provide a valuable data resource, facilitate a deeper understanding of metastatic mechanisms, and may help diagnosis of metastatic potential in individual patients, thus supporting personalized medicine.Graphical abstractDisplay OmittedHighlights•Provide a high-resolution single-cell triple-omics data of five liver cancer cell lines•Identify a robust 14-gene set representing hypoxia signature•The hypoxia signature is associated with prognosis•Establish an assessment model to characterized metastasis abilityCell biology; Omics; Transcriptomics
