Yu Zhengheng, Liu Hongjin, Ye Jingming, Liu Yinhua, Xin Ling, Liu Qian, Cheng Yuanjia, Yin Lu, Xu Ling
Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
Department of Urology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Front Genet. 2024 Mar 12;15:1360507. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2024.1360507. eCollection 2024.
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a subtype of breast cancer with poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been proven to improve outcomes in TNBC patients, the potential mechanisms and markers that determine the therapeutic response to ICIs remains uncertain. Revealing the relationship and interaction between cancer cells and tumor microenvironment (TME) could be helpful in predicting treatment efficacy and developing novel therapeutic agents. By analyzing single-cell RNA sequencing dataset, we comprehensively profiled cell types and subpopulations as well as identified their signatures in the TME of TNBC. We also proposed a method for quantitatively assessment of the TME immune profile and provided a framework for identifying cancer cell-intrinsic features associated with TME through integrated analysis. Using integrative analyses, was identified as a TME-associated gene, whose expression was positively correlated with prognosis and response to ICIs in TNBC. In conclusion, this study characterized the heterogeneity of cellular components in TME of TNBC patients, and brought new insights into the relationship between cancer cells and TME. In addition, was identified as a potential predictor of prognosis and response to ICIs in TNBC.
三阴性乳腺癌（TNBC）是一种预后较差且治疗选择有限的乳腺癌亚型。尽管免疫检查点抑制剂（ICIs）已被证明可改善TNBC患者的预后，但决定对ICIs治疗反应的潜在机制和标志物仍不确定。揭示癌细胞与肿瘤微环境（TME）之间的关系和相互作用可能有助于预测治疗效果并开发新型治疗药物。通过分析单细胞RNA测序数据集，我们全面描绘了TNBC肿瘤微环境中的细胞类型和亚群，并确定了它们的特征。我们还提出了一种定量评估肿瘤微环境免疫特征的方法，并提供了一个通过综合分析识别与肿瘤微环境相关的癌细胞内在特征的框架。通过综合分析， 被鉴定为一个与肿瘤微环境相关的基因，其表达与TNBC的预后和对ICIs的反应呈正相关。总之，本研究描述了TNBC患者肿瘤微环境中细胞成分的异质性，并为癌细胞与肿瘤微环境之间的关系带来了新的见解。此外， 被确定为TNBC预后和对ICIs反应的潜在预测指标。
