DKK1+ tumor cells inhibited the infiltration of CCL19+ fibroblasts and plasma cells contributing to worse immunotherapy response in hepatocellular carcinoma.

ABSTRACT: Intra-tumor immune infiltration plays a pivotal role in the interaction with tumor cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its phenotype and related spatial structure remained elusive. To address these limitations, we conducted a comprehensive study combining spatial data (38,191 spots from eight samples) and single-cell data (56,022 cells from 20 samples). Our analysis revealed two distinct infiltration patterns: immune exclusion and immune activation. Plasma cells emerged as the primary cell type within intra-tumor immune clusters. Notably, we observed the co-location of CCL19+ fibroblasts with plasma cells, which secrete chemokines and promote T-cell activation and leukocyte migration. Conversely, in immune-exclusion samples, this co-location was primarily observed in the adja

SUBMITTER: Fan G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11541906 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature