The co-location of MARCO+ tumor-associated macrophages and CTSE+ tumor cells determined the poor prognosis in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Intratumor immune infiltration plays a crucial role in interacting with tumor cells in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). However, the specific phenotypes of immune cells and their spatial distribution within the tumor microenvironment remain unclear. This study aimed to address these limitations by providing a detailed analysis of immune infiltration patterns in ICC using combined spatial and single-cell transcriptomic data.

Approach and results

We analyzed 29,632 spots from 6 spatial transcriptomic samples and 21,158 cells from 35 single-cell samples of ICC. Two distinct immune infiltration patterns were identified: macrophage+ (characterized by CD68 and macrophage receptor with collagenous structure [MARCO]) and plasma cell+ (characterized by IGHG1

SUBMITTER: Fan G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12178172 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature