Assay optimization for spatial omics analysis of oropharyngeal cancer tissue
(2024) KIMM05 20241Department of Immunotechnology
- Abstract
- The incidence of oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) is increasing in developed countries, and OPC is associated with human papillomavirus infection [1, 2]. Immunotherapies show promise as an end-stage treatment for immune-infiltrated tumours. They are only efficacious in 18% of patients leading to investigation of the immune compartment to comprehend which factors contribute to effective treatments. Anti-tumor dendritic cells and CD8+ T-cell infiltrated tumours have been associated with better treatment outcomes and greater overall survival. Here, the tumour microenvironment of OPC is investigated using spatial proteomics-based platforms Akoya and MACsima. These techniques were successfully implemented to identify the myeloid cell subsets and... (More)
- The incidence of oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) is increasing in developed countries, and OPC is associated with human papillomavirus infection [1, 2]. Immunotherapies show promise as an end-stage treatment for immune-infiltrated tumours. They are only efficacious in 18% of patients leading to investigation of the immune compartment to comprehend which factors contribute to effective treatments. Anti-tumor dendritic cells and CD8+ T-cell infiltrated tumours have been associated with better treatment outcomes and greater overall survival. Here, the tumour microenvironment of OPC is investigated using spatial proteomics-based platforms Akoya and MACsima. These techniques were successfully implemented to identify the myeloid cell subsets and categorisation was done using QuPATH version 0.5.0. The spatial R package called SPIAT(Spatial Image Analysis of Tissues) was used to further analyse cell co-localisation. It showed that the myeloid cells, especially the conventional dendritic cell type 2, had high levels of co-localisation with the CD8+ T-cells. Furthermore, most of the immune cells were present in the center of the tumor region of interest (ROI), and they were increased compared to a healthy control. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Assay optimization for spatial omics analysis of oropharyngeal cancer tissue.
I developed a method for locating immune cells inside of cancer tissue. This was done to further the understanding of the immune system and how it can be utilised to cure cancer.
Oropharyngeal cancer is a type of head and neck cancer which is currently the sixth most common cancer type and the risk factors for developing it include: smoking, alcohol consumption and human papillomavirus. During the last ten years, immunotherapies have shown great promise as an end-stage treatment by activating the patient's immune cells to fight the cancer. Normally immune cells are primed for finding and killing cancer cells before they spread too much. But the cancer cells can... (More) - Assay optimization for spatial omics analysis of oropharyngeal cancer tissue.
I developed a method for locating immune cells inside of cancer tissue. This was done to further the understanding of the immune system and how it can be utilised to cure cancer.
Oropharyngeal cancer is a type of head and neck cancer which is currently the sixth most common cancer type and the risk factors for developing it include: smoking, alcohol consumption and human papillomavirus. During the last ten years, immunotherapies have shown great promise as an end-stage treatment by activating the patient's immune cells to fight the cancer. Normally immune cells are primed for finding and killing cancer cells before they spread too much. But the cancer cells can mutate to evade the immune system giving them room to grow. The treatments disrupt the cancer cells' escape mechanisms which allows the immune cells to resume their attack and to destroy the cancer. These treatments have worked for some but not all patients, which leads to the need to understand why they fail to properly initiate an immune response in some patients.
The immune system is like an orchestra where all the cells need to be in tune and keep the same rhythm to work properly. Cells do not hear in the same way as we do and communicate instead through chemical signals and direct physical communication to coordinate effective responses against diseases. To gain a greater understanding of how the immune system functions in cancer we therefore need to investigate the distribution of immune cells in the tumor and their proximity to one another.
Immune cells in our body are rare compared to the other cells in our tissues, and trying to find them when looking through a normal microscope is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Every cell in our body has different surface structures which are specific to them. Antibodies are molecules which bind very well to these structures, much like how a puzzle piece only fits perfectly with its intended piece. Targeting the cell-specific structures with fluorescent antibodies is an effective strategy for identifying them in tissues.
In this study I used cutting-edge technologies based on fluorescent antibodies, to localize immune cells in oropharyngeal cancer. Through this investigation, I gained more comprehensive knowledge regarding immune cell architecture and interaction in tumour lesions. To fully understand how these cells affect patients’ ability to fight cancer, this study can be used in the future to analyse more samples. This approach is paramount because every patient’s tumor and response to treatment is unique, and this would allow further understanding how to tailor and develop novel targeted therapies to improve patient outcomes. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9151324
- author
- Magnusson, Erik LU
- supervisor
-
- Malin Lindstedt LU
- Kristi Ajazi LU
- organization
- course
- KIMM05 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Immunohistochemistry, Immunology, oncology, spatial-omics, bioinformatics
- language
- English
- id
- 9151324
- date added to LUP
- 2024-05-13 09:41:35
- date last changed
- 2024-05-13 09:41:35
@misc{9151324,
abstract = {{The incidence of oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) is increasing in developed countries, and OPC is associated with human papillomavirus infection [1, 2]. Immunotherapies show promise as an end-stage treatment for immune-infiltrated tumours. They are only efficacious in 18% of patients leading to investigation of the immune compartment to comprehend which factors contribute to effective treatments. Anti-tumor dendritic cells and CD8+ T-cell infiltrated tumours have been associated with better treatment outcomes and greater overall survival. Here, the tumour microenvironment of OPC is investigated using spatial proteomics-based platforms Akoya and MACsima. These techniques were successfully implemented to identify the myeloid cell subsets and categorisation was done using QuPATH version 0.5.0. The spatial R package called SPIAT(Spatial Image Analysis of Tissues) was used to further analyse cell co-localisation. It showed that the myeloid cells, especially the conventional dendritic cell type 2, had high levels of co-localisation with the CD8+ T-cells. Furthermore, most of the immune cells were present in the center of the tumor region of interest (ROI), and they were increased compared to a healthy control.}},
author = {{Magnusson, Erik}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Assay optimization for spatial omics analysis of oropharyngeal cancer tissue}},
year = {{2024}},
}