IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v14y2023i1d10.1038_s41467-023-35832-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Single-cell analysis reveals prognostic fibroblast subpopulations linked to molecular and immunological subtypes of lung cancer

Author

Listed:
  • Christopher J. Hanley

    (University of Southampton
    Cancer Research UK and NIHR Southampton Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre)

  • Sara Waise

    (University of Southampton)

  • Matthew J. Ellis

    (University of Southampton)

  • Maria A. Lopez

    (University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust)

  • Wai Y. Pun

    (University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust)

  • Julian Taylor

    (University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust)

  • Rachel Parker

    (University of Southampton)

  • Lucy M. Kimbley

    (University of Southampton)

  • Serena J. Chee

    (University of Southampton
    University of Liverpool)

  • Emily C. Shaw

    (University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust)

  • Jonathan West

    (University of Southampton
    University of Southampton)

  • Aiman Alzetani

    (University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust)

  • Edwin Woo

    (University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust)

  • Christian H. Ottensmeier

    (University of Southampton
    Cancer Research UK and NIHR Southampton Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre
    University of Liverpool)

  • Matthew J. J. Rose-Zerilli

    (University of Southampton
    University of Southampton)

  • Gareth J. Thomas

    (University of Southampton
    Cancer Research UK and NIHR Southampton Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre
    University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust)

Abstract

Fibroblasts are poorly characterised cells that variably impact tumour progression. Here, we use single cell RNA-sequencing, multiplexed immunohistochemistry and digital cytometry (CIBERSORTx) to identify and characterise three major fibroblast subpopulations in human non-small cell lung cancer: adventitial, alveolar and myofibroblasts. Alveolar and adventitial fibroblasts (enriched in control tissue samples) localise to discrete spatial niches in histologically normal lung tissue and indicate improved overall survival rates when present in lung adenocarcinomas (LUAD). Trajectory inference identifies three phases of control tissue fibroblast activation, leading to myofibroblast enrichment in tumour samples: initial upregulation of inflammatory cytokines, followed by stress-response signalling and ultimately increased expression of fibrillar collagens. Myofibroblasts correlate with poor overall survival rates in LUAD, associated with loss of epithelial differentiation, TP53 mutations, proximal molecular subtypes and myeloid cell recruitment. In squamous carcinomas myofibroblasts were not prognostic despite being transcriptomically equivalent. These findings have important implications for developing fibroblast-targeting strategies for cancer therapy.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher J. Hanley & Sara Waise & Matthew J. Ellis & Maria A. Lopez & Wai Y. Pun & Julian Taylor & Rachel Parker & Lucy M. Kimbley & Serena J. Chee & Emily C. Shaw & Jonathan West & Aiman Alzetani , 2023. "Single-cell analysis reveals prognostic fibroblast subpopulations linked to molecular and immunological subtypes of lung cancer," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-18, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-35832-6
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-35832-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-35832-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-023-35832-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kyle J. Travaglini & Ahmad N. Nabhan & Lolita Penland & Rahul Sinha & Astrid Gillich & Rene V. Sit & Stephen Chang & Stephanie D. Conley & Yasuo Mori & Jun Seita & Gerald J. Berry & Joseph B. Shrager , 2020. "A molecular cell atlas of the human lung from single-cell RNA sequencing," Nature, Nature, vol. 587(7835), pages 619-625, November.
    2. Matthew B. Buechler & Rachana N. Pradhan & Akshay T. Krishnamurty & Christian Cox & Aslihan Karabacak Calviello & Amber W. Wang & Yeqing Angela Yang & Lucinda Tam & Roger Caothien & Merone Roose-Girma, 2021. "Cross-tissue organization of the fibroblast lineage," Nature, Nature, vol. 593(7860), pages 575-579, May.
    3. Dvir Aran & Marina Sirota & Atul J. Butte, 2015. "Systematic pan-cancer analysis of tumour purity," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Nayoung Kim & Hong Kwan Kim & Kyungjong Lee & Yourae Hong & Jong Ho Cho & Jung Won Choi & Jung-Il Lee & Yeon-Lim Suh & Bo Mi Ku & Hye Hyeon Eum & Soyean Choi & Yoon-La Choi & Je-Gun Joung & Woong-Yang, 2020. "Single-cell RNA sequencing demonstrates the molecular and cellular reprogramming of metastatic lung adenocarcinoma," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhoufeng Wang & Zhe Li & Kun Zhou & Chengdi Wang & Lili Jiang & Li Zhang & Ying Yang & Wenxin Luo & Wenliang Qiao & Gang Wang & Yinyun Ni & Shuiping Dai & Tingting Guo & Guiyi Ji & Minjie Xu & Yiying , 2021. "Deciphering cell lineage specification of human lung adenocarcinoma with single-cell RNA sequencing," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Yin Li & Manling Jiang & Ling Aye & Li Luo & Yong Zhang & Fengkai Xu & Yongqi Wei & Dan Peng & Xiang He & Jie Gu & Xiaofang Yu & Guoping Li & Di Ge & Chunlai Lu, 2024. "UPP1 promotes lung adenocarcinoma progression through the induction of an immunosuppressive microenvironment," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-23, December.
    3. Guangyuan Li & Baobao Song & Harinder Singh & V. B. Surya Prasath & H. Leighton Grimes & Nathan Salomonis, 2023. "Decision level integration of unimodal and multimodal single cell data with scTriangulate," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.
    4. Yuanyuan Chen & Reka Toth & Sara Chocarro & Dieter Weichenhan & Joschka Hey & Pavlo Lutsik & Stefan Sawall & Georgios T. Stathopoulos & Christoph Plass & Rocio Sotillo, 2022. "Club cells employ regeneration mechanisms during lung tumorigenesis," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-16, December.
    5. Urban Lendahl & Lars Muhl & Christer Betsholtz, 2022. "Identification, discrimination and heterogeneity of fibroblasts," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    6. Qiang Zhang & Sai Ma & Zhengzhi Liu & Bohan Zhu & Zirui Zhou & Gaoshan Li & J. Javier Meana & Javier González-Maeso & Chang Lu, 2023. "Droplet-based bisulfite sequencing for high-throughput profiling of single-cell DNA methylomes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    7. Magnus Zethoven & Luciano Martelotto & Andrew Pattison & Blake Bowen & Shiva Balachander & Aidan Flynn & Fernando J. Rossello & Annette Hogg & Julie A. Miller & Zdenek Frysak & Sean Grimmond & Lauren , 2022. "Single-nuclei and bulk-tissue gene-expression analysis of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma links disease subtypes with tumor microenvironment," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-18, December.
    8. Moujtaba Y. Kasmani & Paytsar Topchyan & Ashley K. Brown & Ryan J. Brown & Xiaopeng Wu & Yao Chen & Achia Khatun & Donia Alson & Yue Wu & Robert Burns & Chien-Wei Lin & Matthew R. Kudek & Jie Sun & We, 2023. "A spatial sequencing atlas of age-induced changes in the lung during influenza infection," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-19, December.
    9. Miles C. Andrews & Junna Oba & Chang-Jiun Wu & Haifeng Zhu & Tatiana Karpinets & Caitlin A. Creasy & Marie-Andrée Forget & Xiaoxing Yu & Xingzhi Song & Xizeng Mao & A. Gordon Robertson & Gabriele Roma, 2022. "Multi-modal molecular programs regulate melanoma cell state," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-18, December.
    10. Fabian Peisker & Maurice Halder & James Nagai & Susanne Ziegler & Nadine Kaesler & Konrad Hoeft & Ronghui Li & Eric M. J. Bindels & Christoph Kuppe & Julia Moellmann & Michael Lehrke & Christian Stopp, 2022. "Mapping the cardiac vascular niche in heart failure," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-20, December.
    11. Han Luo & Xuyang Xia & Li-Bin Huang & Hyunsu An & Minyuan Cao & Gyeong Dae Kim & Hai-Ning Chen & Wei-Han Zhang & Yang Shu & Xiangyu Kong & Zhixiang Ren & Pei-Heng Li & Yang Liu & Huairong Tang & Rongh, 2022. "Pan-cancer single-cell analysis reveals the heterogeneity and plasticity of cancer-associated fibroblasts in the tumor microenvironment," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-17, December.
    12. Reza Mirzazadeh & Zaneta Andrusivova & Ludvig Larsson & Phillip T. Newton & Leire Alonso Galicia & Xesús M. Abalo & Mahtab Avijgan & Linda Kvastad & Alexandre Denadai-Souza & Nathalie Stakenborg & Ale, 2023. "Spatially resolved transcriptomic profiling of degraded and challenging fresh frozen samples," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.
    13. Martin Uhrbom & Lars Muhl & Guillem Genové & Jianping Liu & Henrik Palmgren & Ida Alexandersson & Fredrik Karlsson & Alex-Xianghua Zhou & Sandra Lunnerdal & Sonja Gustafsson & Byambajav Buyandelger & , 2024. "Adipose stem cells are sexually dimorphic cells with dual roles as preadipocytes and resident fibroblasts," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-19, December.
    14. Michael J. P. Crowley & Bhavneet Bhinder & Geoffrey J. Markowitz & Mitchell Martin & Akanksha Verma & Tito A. Sandoval & Chang-Suk Chae & Shira Yomtoubian & Yang Hu & Sahil Chopra & Diamile A. Tavarez, 2023. "Tumor-intrinsic IRE1α signaling controls protective immunity in lung cancer," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.
    15. Gregor Werba & Daniel Weissinger & Emily A. Kawaler & Ende Zhao & Despoina Kalfakakou & Surajit Dhara & Lidong Wang & Heather B. Lim & Grace Oh & Xiaohong Jing & Nina Beri & Lauren Khanna & Tamas Gond, 2023. "Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the effects of chemotherapy on human pancreatic adenocarcinoma and its tumor microenvironment," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.
    16. Julia M. Houthuijzen & Roebi Bruijn & Eline Burg & Anne Paulien Drenth & Ellen Wientjens & Tamara Filipovic & Esme Bullock & Chiara S. Brambillasca & Emilia M. Pulver & Marja Nieuwland & Iris Rink & F, 2023. "CD26-negative and CD26-positive tissue-resident fibroblasts contribute to functionally distinct CAF subpopulations in breast cancer," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-21, December.
    17. Paula Punzon-Jimenez & Alba Machado-Lopez & Raul Perez-Moraga & Jaime Llera-Oyola & Daniela Grases & Marta Galvez-Viedma & Mustafa Sibai & Elena Satorres-Perez & Susana Lopez-Agullo & Rafael Badenes &, 2024. "Effect of aging on the human myometrium at single-cell resolution," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, December.
    18. Xiaomei Li & Lin Liu & Gregory J Goodall & Andreas Schreiber & Taosheng Xu & Jiuyong Li & Thuc D Le, 2020. "A novel single-cell based method for breast cancer prognosis," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(8), pages 1-20, August.
    19. Shixuan Liu & Camille Ezran & Michael F. Z. Wang & Zhengda Li & Kyle Awayan & Jonathan Z. Long & Iwijn De Vlaminck & Sheng Wang & Jacques Epelbaum & Christin S. Kuo & Jérémy Terrien & Mark A. Krasnow , 2024. "An organism-wide atlas of hormonal signaling based on the mouse lemur single-cell transcriptome," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-27, December.
    20. Eran Mick & Alexandra Tsitsiklis & Natasha Spottiswoode & Saharai Caldera & Paula Hayakawa Serpa & Angela M. Detweiler & Norma Neff & Angela Oliveira Pisco & Lucy M. Li & Hanna Retallack & Kalani Ratn, 2022. "Upper airway gene expression shows a more robust adaptive immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in children," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-35832-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.