Single-Cell Landscape Highlights Heterogenous Microenvironment, Novel Immune Reaction Patterns, Potential Biomarkers and Unique Therapeutic Strategies of Cervical Squamous Carcinoma, Human Papillomavirus-Associated (HPVA) and Non-HPVA Adenocarcinoma

Single-cell and spatial transcriptome analyses reveal tertiary lymphoid structures linked to tumour progression and immunotherapy response in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Tertiary lymphoid structures are immune cell aggregates linked with cancer outcomes, but their interactions with tumour cell aggregates are unclear. Using nasopharyngeal carcinoma as a model, here we analyse single-cell transcriptomes of 343,829 cells from 77 biopsy and blood samples and spatially-resolved transcriptomes of 31,316 spots from 15 tumours to decipher their components and interactions with tumour cell aggregates. We identify essential cell populations in tertiary lymphoid structure, including CXCL13+ cancer-associated fibroblasts, stem-like CXCL13+CD8+ T cells, and B and T follicular helper cells. Our study shows that germinal centre reaction matures plasma cells. These plasma cells intersperse with tumour cell aggregates, promoting apoptosis of EBV-related malignant cells and enhancing immunotherapy response. CXCL13+ cancer-associated fibroblasts promote B cell adhesion and antibody production, activating CXCL13+CD8+ T cells that become exhausted in tumour cell aggregates. Tertiary lymphoid structure-related cell signatures correlate with prognosis and PD-1 blockade response, offering insights for therapeutic strategies in cancers.

Unveiling major histocompatibility complex-mediated pan-cancer immune features by integrated single-cell and bulk RNA sequencing

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have transformed cancer therapy, yet persistent challenges such as low response rate and significant heterogeneity necessitate attention. The pivotal role of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in ICI efficacy, its intricate impacts and potentials as a prognostic marker, warrants comprehensive exploration. This study integrates single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), bulk RNA-seq, and spatial transcriptomic analyses to unveil pan-cancer immune characteristics governed by the MHC transcriptional feature (MHC.sig). Developed through scRNA-seq analysis of 663,760 cells across diverse cohorts and validated in 30 solid cancer types, the MHC.sig demonstrates a robust correlation between immune-related genes and infiltrating immune cells, highlighting its potential as a universal pan-cancer marker for anti-tumor immunity. Screening the MHC.sig for therapeutic targets using CRISPR data identifies potential genes for immune therapy synergy and validates its predictive efficacy for ICIs responsiveness across diverse datasets and cancer types. Finally, analysis of cellular communication patterns reveals interactions between C1QC+macrophages and malignant cells, providing insights into potential therapeutic agents and their sensitivity characteristics. This comprehensive analysis positions the MHC.sig as a promising marker for predicting immune therapy outcomes and guiding combinatorial therapeutic strategies.

CircMAN1A2_009 facilitates YBX1 nuclear localization to induce GLO1 activation for cervical adenocarcinoma cell growth

The molecular mechanisms driving the development of cervical adenocarcinoma (CADC) and optimal patient management strategies remain elusive. In this study, we have identified circMAN1A2_009 as an oncogenic circular RNA (circRNA) in CADC. Clinically, circMAN1A2_009 showed significant upregulation in CADC tissues, with an impressive area under the curve value of 0.8075 for detecting CADC. Functional studies, involving both gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments, revealed that circMAN1A2_009 suppressed reactive oxygen species accumulation and apoptosis, and boosted cell viability in CADC cells. Conversely, silencing circMAN1A2_009 reversed these effects. Further mechanistic investigations indicated that circMAN1A2_009 interacted with YBX1, facilitating the phosphorylation levels of YBX1 at serine 102 (p-YBX1S102) and facilitating YBX1 nuclear localization through sequence 245-251. This interaction subsequently increased the activity of the glyoxalase 1 (GLO1) promoter, leading to the activation of GLO1 expression. Consistently, inhibition of either YBX1 or GLO1 mirrored the biological effects of circMAN1A2_009 in CADC cells. Additionally, knockdown of YBX1 or GLO1 partially reversed the oncogenic behaviors induced by circMAN1A2_009. In conclusion, our findings propose circMAN1A2_009 as a potential oncogene and a promising indicator for diagnosing and guiding therapy in CADC patients.

Role of ZNF334 in cervical cancer: implications for EMT reversal and tumor suppression

Zinc-finger proteins are involved in many biological processes. However, the role of Zinc-finger protein 334 (ZNF334) in cervical cancer remains unidentified. This study showed that promoter methylation of ZNF334 was responsible for its reduced expression. ZNF334 suppressed malignant biological behaviors in cervical cancer. Notably, ZNF334 reversed the EMT process both in vitro and in vivo. RNA-seq coupled with bioinformatics analysis caught P3H3 which is upregulated by ZNF334. Dual-luciferase reporter and Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays illustrated that ZNF334 directly regulate P3H3. Knockdown of P3H3 attenuated the reversal of EMT induced by ZNF334. Additionally, ZNF334 overexpression sensitized cervical cancer cells to the cytotoxic effects of paclitaxel, cyclosporine and sunitinib. In conclusions, this study illustrated that DNA methylation-based silencing ZNF334 played a vital role in cervical cancer, by regulating P3H3 in turn affects EMT. ZNF334 has the potential to become a novel diagnostic biomarker and a potential treatment target for cervical cancer.

CCNA2 and NEK2 regulate glioblastoma progression by targeting the cell cycle

Glioblastoma (GBM) is characterized by significant heterogeneity, leading to poor survival outcomes for patients, despite the implementation of comprehensive treatment strategies. The roles of cyclin A2 (CCNA2) and NIMA related kinase 2 (NEK2) have been extensively studied in numerous cancers, but their specific functions in GBM remain to be elucidated. The present study aimed to investigate the potential molecular mechanisms of CCNA2 and NEK2 in GBM. CCNA2 and NEK2 expression and prognosis in glioma were evaluated by bioinformatics methods. In addition, the distribution of CCNA2 and NEK2 expression in GBM subsets was determined using pseudo-time analysis and tricycle position of single-cell sequencing. Gene Expression Omnibus and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome databases were employed and enrichment analyses were conducted to investigate potential signaling pathways in GBM subsets and a nomogram was established to predict 1-, 2- and 3-year overall survival probability in GBM. CCNA2 and NEK2 expression levels were further validated by western blot analysis and immunohistochemical staining in GBM samples. High expression of CCNA2 and NEK2 in glioma indicates poor clinical outcomes. Single-cell sequencing of GBM revealed that these genes were upregulated in a subset of positive neural progenitor cells (P-NPCs), which showed significant proliferation and progression properties and may activate G2M checkpoint pathways. A comprehensive nomogram predicts 1-, 2- and 3-year overall survival probability in GBM by considering P-NPCs, age, chemotherapy and radiotherapy scores. CCNA2 and NEK2 regulate glioblastoma progression by targeting the cell cycle, thus indicating the potential of novel therapy directed to CCNA2 and NEK2 in GBM.

Stratified Prognostic Comparison Between Stage IIB-IVA Cervical Adenocarcinoma and Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A SEER Database-Based Study

Objective

In current most observational studies, the prognosis of cervical adenocarcinoma is worse than that of cervical squamous cell carcinoma. However, most of the current studies are holistic and lack more detailed staging and grouping analysis of the prognosis of the two types of cervical tumors.

Patients and Methods

Inclusion from the SEER database of stage IIB-IVA cervical squamous cell carcinoma and cervical adenocarcinoma patients who did not undergo surgery from 2000 to 2019, underwent radiotherapy/chemotherapy/radiotherapy and chemotherapy/no treatment, and then propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to eliminate confounding factors between cervical squamous cell carcinoma and cervical adenocarcinoma patients with the same stage and treatment method. After matching the original data and propensity score, logarithmic rank test and chi square test were used to evaluate the survival benefits of different stages and treatment methods for patients using Kaplan Meier curve. The prognosis of two types of cervical tumors under the same treatment method was compared, and factors that may cause poor prognosis were analyzed, excluding confounding factors.

Results

A total of 10,057 patients were included in this study, and survival analysis showed a significant correlation between the treatment method used and patient prognosis (P<0.05). However, for patients who received radiotherapy or no special treatment, OS and CSS were only related to tumor stage and not to tumor type. In patients undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the OS and CSS of stage IIIA and IVA patients are not related to tumor pathological characteristics, while the OS of stage IIB patients is not related to tumor properties after PSM.

Conclusion

In patients undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the OS and CSS of stage IIIA and IVA patients were not related to histological type, while the OS of stage IIB patients was not related to histological type after PSM.

Potential anti-tumor effects of regulatory T cells in the tumor microenvironment: a review

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) expressing the transcription factor FoxP3 are essential for maintaining immunological balance and are a significant component of the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Single-cell RNA sequencing (ScRNA-seq) technology has shown that Tregs exhibit significant plasticity and functional diversity in various tumors within the TME. This results in Tregs playing a dual role in the TME, which is not always centered around supporting tumor progression as typically believed. Abundant data confirms the anti-tumor activities of Tregs and their correlation with enhanced patient prognosis in specific types of malignancies. In this review, we summarize the potential anti-tumor actions of Tregs, including suppressing tumor-promoting inflammatory responses and boosting anti-tumor immunity. In addition, this study outlines the spatial and temporal variations in Tregs function to emphasize that their predictive significance in malignancies may change. It is essential to comprehend the functional diversity and potential anti-tumor effects of Tregs to improve tumor therapy strategies.

Immune landscape and heterogeneity of cervical squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma

Despite the differences in disease outcomes and pathological features between cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) and adenocarcinoma (ADC), the molecular characteristics in immune heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment remain unclear. Here, we explored the immune landscape and heterogeneity between CSCC and ADC. Gene expression and clinical characteristics of cervical carcinoma from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were downloaded. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs), immune cell infiltration, and pathway enrichment analyses were used to explore the immune landscape and heterogeneity between CSCC and ADC. Furthermore, distinct immune signatures between CSCC and ADC were validated based on clinical samples. In total, 4,132 upregulated DEGs and 2,307 down-regulated DEGs were identified between CSCC and ADC, with enrichments in immune related-pathways in CSCC. In addition, 54 hub DEGs correlated with patients' prognosis and immunocytes infiltration were identified. The CSCC patients had a higher ImmuneScore and more abundant immunocytes infiltration compared to ADC patients, as validated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and multicolor immunofluorescence (mIF) analyses of collected samples. Furthermore, CSCC displayed higher inhibitory immune checkpoints expression, tumor mutation burden (TMB), and microsatellite instability (MSI) compared to ADC, which indicated CSCC patients were more likely to benefit from immunotherapy. In summary, our results revealed the huge immune heterogeneity between CSCC and ADC, and provided guidance for immunotherapy selection for different pathological types of cervical cancer.

Interactions of Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-expressing LAMP3+ dendritic cells with CD4+ regulatory T cells and CD8+ exhausted T cells: synergistically remodeling of the immunosuppressive microenvironment in cervical cancer and therapeutic implications

BACKGROUND

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide. Although immunotherapy has been applied in clinical practice, its therapeutic efficacy remains far from satisfactory, necessitating further investigation of the mechanism of CC immune remodeling and exploration of novel treatment targets. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of CC immune remodeling and explore potential therapeutic targets.

METHODS

We conducted single-cell RNA sequencing on a total of 17 clinical specimens, including normal cervical tissues, high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, and CC tissues. To validate our findings, we conducted multicolor immunohistochemical staining of CC tissues and constructed a subcutaneous tumorigenesis model in C57BL/6 mice using murine CC cell lines (TC1) to evaluate the effectiveness of combination therapy involving indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) inhibition and immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). We used the unpaired two-tailed Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney test, or Kruskal-Wallis test to compare continuous data between two groups and one-way ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test to compare data between multiple groups.

RESULTS

Malignant cervical epithelial cells did not manifest noticeable signs of tumor escape, whereas lysosomal-associated membrane protein 3-positive (LAMP3+ ) dendritic cells (DCs) in a mature state with immunoregulatory roles were found to express IDO1 and affect tryptophan metabolism. These cells interacted with both tumor-reactive exhausted CD8+ T cells and CD4+ regulatory T cells, synergistically forming a vicious immunosuppressive cycle and mediating CC immune escape. Further validation through multicolor immunohistochemical staining showed co-localization of neoantigen-reactive T cells (CD3+ , CD4+ /CD8+ , and PD-1+ ) and LAMP3+ DCs (CD80+ and PD-L1+ ). Additionally, a combination of the IDO1 inhibitor with an ICB agent significantly reduced tumor volume in the mouse model of CC compared with an ICB agent alone.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study suggested that a combination treatment consisting of targeting IDO1 and ICB agent could improve the therapeutic efficacy of current CC immunotherapies. Additionally, our results provided crucial insights for designing drugs and conducting future clinical trials for CC.