Cho Yeonju, Lee Jae W, Shin Sarah M, Hernandez Alexei G, Yuan Xuan, Schneider Jowaly, Hooper Jody E, Wood Laura D, Jaffee Elizabeth M, Deshpande Atul, Ho Won Jin
Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University. Baltimore, MD USA.
Convergence Institute, Johns Hopkins University. Baltimore, MD USA.
bioRxiv. 2025 Jun 17:2025.06.12.659314. doi: 10.1101/2025.06.12.659314.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal cancer, with liver metastases significantly worsening outcomes. However, distinct features of the tumor microenvironment (TME) between primary and metastatic sites remain poorly defined. Cellular neighborhoods within the TME are recognized as functional units that influence tumor behavior. Conventional spatial methods, which assign equal weights to all cells in a region, fail to capture the nuances of cellular interactions. To address this, we developed Functional Cellular Neighborhood (FunCN) quantification, which integrates both the proportion and proximity of surrounding cells. Applying FunCN to PDAC imaging mass cytometry data, we identified neutrophil-enriched interactions in liver metastases compared to primary tumors, correlating with elevated VISTA expression by tumor cells. Additionally, FunCN clusters around CD8⁺ T cells in pancreas and liver were associated with higher TIGIT and LAG3, respectively. These findings demonstrate the importance of spatial immune landscapes in PDAC and identify potential therapeutic opportunities.
胰腺导管腺癌(PDAC)是一种极具致死性的癌症,肝转移会显著恶化预后。然而,原发部位和转移部位肿瘤微环境(TME)的不同特征仍不清楚。TME内的细胞邻域被认为是影响肿瘤行为的功能单元。传统的空间方法对区域内所有细胞赋予同等权重,无法捕捉细胞间相互作用的细微差别。为解决这一问题,我们开发了功能细胞邻域(FunCN)量化方法,该方法整合了周围细胞的比例和邻近性。将FunCN应用于PDAC成像质谱流式细胞术数据,我们发现与原发性肿瘤相比,肝转移灶中存在富含中性粒细胞的相互作用,这与肿瘤细胞中VISTA表达升高相关。此外,胰腺和肝脏中围绕CD8⁺T细胞的FunCN簇分别与较高的TIGIT和LAG3相关。这些发现证明了PDAC中空间免疫格局的重要性,并确定了潜在的治疗机会。