Multiomic analysis of cervical squamous cell carcinoma identifies cellular ecosystems with biological and clinical relevance
Menée à partir d'une analyse multiomique réalisée à l'aide d'échantillons tumoraux et d'échantillons sanguins prélevés sur des patientes atteintes d'un carcinome épidermoïde du col utérin, cette étude identifie des états cellulaires dont certains sont associés à des modifications du microenvironnement immunitaire de la tumeur
Cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) exhibits a limited response to immune-checkpoint blockade. Here we conducted a multiomic analysis encompassing single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics and spatial proteomics, combined with genetic and pharmacological perturbations to systematically develop a high-resolution and spatially resolved map of intratumoral expression heterogeneity in CSCC. Three tumor states (epithelial-cytokeratin, epithelial-immune (Epi-Imm) and epithelial senescence), recapitulating different stages of squamous differentiation, showed distinct tumor immune microenvironments. Bidirectional interactions between epithelial-cytokeratin malignant cells and immunosuppressive cancer-associated fibroblasts form an immune exclusionary microenvironment through transforming growth factor β pathway signaling mediated by FABP5. In Epi-Imm tumors, malignant cells interact with natural killer and T cells through interferon signaling. Preliminary analysis of samples from a cervical cancer clinical trial (NCT04516616) demonstrated neoadjuvant chemotherapy induces a state transition to Epi-Imm, which correlates with pathological complete remission following treatment with immune-checkpoint blockade. These findings deepen the understanding of cellular state diversity in CSCC.
Nature Genetics , résumé, 2023