Fecal and Tissue Microbiota Are Associated with Tumor T-Cell Infiltration and Mesenteric Lymph Node Involvement in Colorectal Cancer
Kayti Luu,
Jason Y. Ye,
Venu Lagishetty,
Fengting Liang,
Megan Hauer,
Farzaneh Sedighian,
Mary R. Kwaan,
Kevork K. Kazanjian,
J. Randolph Hecht,
Anne Y. Lin,
Jonathan P. Jacobs
Affiliations
Kayti Luu
John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA
Jason Y. Ye
The Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Venu Lagishetty
The Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Fengting Liang
The Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Megan Hauer
The Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Farzaneh Sedighian
The Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Mary R. Kwaan
Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Kevork K. Kazanjian
Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
J. Randolph Hecht
Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Anne Y. Lin
Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Jonathan P. Jacobs
The Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is associated with alterations of the fecal and tissue-associated microbiome. Preclinical models support a pathogenic role of the microbiome in CRC, including in promoting metastasis and modulating antitumor immune responses. To investigate whether the microbiome is associated with lymph node metastasis and T cell infiltration in human CRC, we performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing of feces, tumor core, tumor surface, and healthy adjacent tissue collected from 34 CRC patients undergoing surgery (28 fecal samples and 39 tissue samples). Tissue microbiome profiles—including increased Fusobacterium—were significantly associated with mesenteric lymph node (MLN) involvement. Fecal microbes were also associated with MLN involvement and accurately classified CRC patients into those with or without MLN involvement. Tumor T cell infiltration was assessed by immunohistochemical staining of CD3 and CD8 in tumor tissue sections. Tumor core microbiota, including members of the Blautia and Faecalibacterium genera, were significantly associated with tumor T cell infiltration. Abundance of specific fecal microbes including a member of the Roseburia genus predicted high vs. low total and cytotoxic T cell infiltration in random forests classifiers. These findings support a link between the microbiome and antitumor immune responses that may influence prognosis of locally advanced CRC.