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Exploring Spatial Heterogeneity of Immune Cells in Nasopharyngeal Cancer

Sobti, Aastha LU ; Sakellariou, Christina LU orcid ; Nilsson, Johan S. LU ; Askmyr, David LU ; Greiff, Lennart LU and Lindstedt, Malin LU (2023) In Cancers 15(7).
Abstract

Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is a malignant tumor. In a recent publication, we described the presence and distribution of CD8+ T cells in NPC and used the information to identify ‘inflamed’, ‘immune-excluded’, and ‘desert’ immune phenotypes, where ‘inflamed’ and ‘immune-excluded’ NPCs were correlated with CD8 T cell infiltration and survival. Arguably, more detailed and, in particular, spatially resolved data are required for patient stratification and for the identification of new treatment targets. In this study, we investigate the phenotype of CD45+ leukocytes in the previously analyzed NPC samples by applying multiplexed tissue analysis to assess the spatial distribution of cell types and to quantify selected... (More)

Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is a malignant tumor. In a recent publication, we described the presence and distribution of CD8+ T cells in NPC and used the information to identify ‘inflamed’, ‘immune-excluded’, and ‘desert’ immune phenotypes, where ‘inflamed’ and ‘immune-excluded’ NPCs were correlated with CD8 T cell infiltration and survival. Arguably, more detailed and, in particular, spatially resolved data are required for patient stratification and for the identification of new treatment targets. In this study, we investigate the phenotype of CD45+ leukocytes in the previously analyzed NPC samples by applying multiplexed tissue analysis to assess the spatial distribution of cell types and to quantify selected biomarkers. A total of 47 specified regions-of-interest (ROIs) were generated based on CD45, CD8, and PanCK morphological staining. Using the GeoMx® Digital Spatial Profiler (DSP), 49 target proteins were digitally quantified from the selected ROIs of a tissue microarray consisting of 30 unique NPC biopsies. Protein targets associated with B cells (CD20), NK cells (CD56), macrophages (CD68), and regulatory T cells (PD-1, FOXP3) were most differentially expressed in CD45+ segments within ‘immune-rich cancer cell islet’ regions of the tumor (cf. ‘surrounding stromal leukocyte’ regions). In contrast, markers associated with suppressive populations of myeloid cells (CD163, B7-H3, VISTA) and T cells (CD4, LAG3, Tim-3) were expressed at a higher level in CD45+ segments in the ‘surrounding stromal leukocyte’ regions (cf. ‘immune-rich cancer cell islet’ regions). When comparing the three phenotypes, the ‘inflamed’ profile (cf. ‘immune-excluded’ and ‘desert’) exhibited higher expression of markers associated with B cells, NK cells, macrophages, and myeloid cells. Myeloid markers were highly expressed in the ‘immune-excluded’ phenotype. Granulocyte markers and immune-regulatory markers were higher in the ‘desert‘ profile (cf. ‘inflamed’ and ‘immune-excluded’). In conclusion, this study describes the spatial heterogeneity of the immune microenvironment in NPC and highlights immune-related biomarkers in immune phenotypes, which may aid in the stratification of patients for therapeutic purposes.

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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
biomarker discovery, digital spatial profiling, immune cells, immune phenotypes, nasopharyngeal cancer, spatial omics
in
Cancers
volume
15
issue
7
article number
2165
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • pmid:37046826
  • scopus:85152919683
ISSN
2072-6694
DOI
10.3390/cancers15072165
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6fe86ca4-3d16-4bb0-8ce4-8e3a18e19def
date added to LUP
2023-09-20 15:07:08
date last changed
2024-10-04 18:31:04
@article{6fe86ca4-3d16-4bb0-8ce4-8e3a18e19def,
  abstract     = {{<p>Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is a malignant tumor. In a recent publication, we described the presence and distribution of CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells in NPC and used the information to identify ‘inflamed’, ‘immune-excluded’, and ‘desert’ immune phenotypes, where ‘inflamed’ and ‘immune-excluded’ NPCs were correlated with CD8 T cell infiltration and survival. Arguably, more detailed and, in particular, spatially resolved data are required for patient stratification and for the identification of new treatment targets. In this study, we investigate the phenotype of CD45<sup>+</sup> leukocytes in the previously analyzed NPC samples by applying multiplexed tissue analysis to assess the spatial distribution of cell types and to quantify selected biomarkers. A total of 47 specified regions-of-interest (ROIs) were generated based on CD45, CD8, and PanCK morphological staining. Using the GeoMx<sup>®</sup> Digital Spatial Profiler (DSP), 49 target proteins were digitally quantified from the selected ROIs of a tissue microarray consisting of 30 unique NPC biopsies. Protein targets associated with B cells (CD20), NK cells (CD56), macrophages (CD68), and regulatory T cells (PD-1, FOXP3) were most differentially expressed in CD45<sup>+</sup> segments within ‘immune-rich cancer cell islet’ regions of the tumor (cf. ‘surrounding stromal leukocyte’ regions). In contrast, markers associated with suppressive populations of myeloid cells (CD163, B7-H3, VISTA) and T cells (CD4, LAG3, Tim-3) were expressed at a higher level in CD45<sup>+</sup> segments in the ‘surrounding stromal leukocyte’ regions (cf. ‘immune-rich cancer cell islet’ regions). When comparing the three phenotypes, the ‘inflamed’ profile (cf. ‘immune-excluded’ and ‘desert’) exhibited higher expression of markers associated with B cells, NK cells, macrophages, and myeloid cells. Myeloid markers were highly expressed in the ‘immune-excluded’ phenotype. Granulocyte markers and immune-regulatory markers were higher in the ‘desert‘ profile (cf. ‘inflamed’ and ‘immune-excluded’). In conclusion, this study describes the spatial heterogeneity of the immune microenvironment in NPC and highlights immune-related biomarkers in immune phenotypes, which may aid in the stratification of patients for therapeutic purposes.</p>}},
  author       = {{Sobti, Aastha and Sakellariou, Christina and Nilsson, Johan S. and Askmyr, David and Greiff, Lennart and Lindstedt, Malin}},
  issn         = {{2072-6694}},
  keywords     = {{biomarker discovery; digital spatial profiling; immune cells; immune phenotypes; nasopharyngeal cancer; spatial omics}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{7}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Cancers}},
  title        = {{Exploring Spatial Heterogeneity of Immune Cells in Nasopharyngeal Cancer}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers15072165}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/cancers15072165}},
  volume       = {{15}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}