Single-cell and spatial transcriptomic analyses revealing tumor microenvironment remodeling after neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents the most common pathological type of lung cancer, and the combination of neoadjuvant immunotherapy with chemotherapy has emerged as the first-line treatment for NSCLC. Nevertheless, the efficacy of this therapeutic approach remains variable. The present study aims to examine the impact of chemoimmunotherapy in NSCLC patients, with a view to identifying key molecules, critical cell subpopulations, communication patterns and spatial distributions that potentially correlate with therapeutic sensitivity. A total of 16 lung cancer tissue samples were collected from a cohort of 12 NSCLC patients and subjected to single-cell RNA and spatial transcriptome sequencing. Our data demonstrated that the distribution of CD4 + Treg T cells and mCAFs indicated an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, while the accumulation of CD4 + Th17 T cells and iCAFs could act as a positive marker for the sensitivity to chemoimmunotherapy. Furthermore, a significant high level of SELENOP-macrophages was observed in tissues from positive responders, and a strong co-localization between SELENOP-macrophages and antigen-presenting cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the tumor boundaries was identified, indicating the cooperative roles of these two cell types in response to combined therapy. Moreover, SELENOP-macrophages were observed to be accumulated in tertiary lymphoid structures, which further suggested its critical role in recruiting lymphocytes. Furthermore, analysis of cell–cell communication, based on spatial transcriptomics, suggests that the interactions between SELENOP-macrophages, apCAFs, CD4 + and CD8 + T cells were significantly enhanced in responders. In addition, SELENOP-macrophages recruited CD4 + Naïve, Helper and CD8 + Naïve T cells through pathways such as the cholesterol, interleukin, chemokine and HLA when responding to combined therapy. The present study further unveils the dynamic spatial and transcriptional changes in the tumor microenvironment of non-small cell lung cancer in response to combination therapy.