Spatial immunophenotypes predict clinical outcome in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Chunbin Zhu; Jiaqiang Ma; Kai Zhu; Lei Yu; Bohao Zheng; Dongning Rao; Shu Zhang; Liangqing Dong; Qiang Gao; Xiaoming Zhang; Diyang Xie

JHEP Reports (Aug 2023)

Spatial immunophenotypes predict clinical outcome in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Chunbin Zhu,
Jiaqiang Ma,
Kai Zhu,
Lei Yu,
Bohao Zheng,
Dongning Rao,
Shu Zhang,
Liangqing Dong,
Qiang Gao,
Xiaoming Zhang,
Diyang Xie

Affiliations

Chunbin Zhu: Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
Jiaqiang Ma: Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; The Center for Microbes, Development and Health, Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
Kai Zhu: Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
Lei Yu: Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
Bohao Zheng: Department of General Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
Dongning Rao: Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; The Center for Microbes, Development and Health, Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
Shu Zhang: Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
Liangqing Dong: Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
Qiang Gao: Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, and Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; Center for Tumor Diagnosis & Therapy, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200540, China; State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China; Corresponding authors. Addresses: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Xiaoming Zhang: The Center for Microbes, Development and Health, Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; The Center for Microbes, Development and Health, Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
Diyang Xie: Department of Hepatic Oncology, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; Department of Hepatic Oncology, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 5, no. 8
p. 100762

Abstract

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Background & Aims: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is a severe malignant tumour that shows only modest responses to immunotherapy. We aimed to identify the spatial immunophenotypes of iCCA and delineate potential immune escape mechanisms. Method: Multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC) was performed to quantitatively evaluate the distribution of 16 immune cell subsets in intratumour, invasive margin and peritumour areas in a cohort of 192 treatment-naïve patients with iCCA. Multiregion unsupervised clustering was used to determine three spatial immunophenotypes, and multiomics analyses were carried out to explore functional differences.Results: iCCA displayed a region-specific distribution of immune cell subsets with abundant CD15+ neutrophil infiltration in intratumour areas. Three spatial immunophenotypes encompassing inflamed (35%), excluded (35%) and ignored (30%) phenotypes were identified. The inflamed phenotype showed characteristics of abundant immune cell infiltration in intratumour areas, increased PD-L1 expression and relatively favourable overall survival. The excluded phenotype with a moderate prognosis was characterized by immune cell infiltration restricted to the invasive margin or peritumour areas and upregulation of activated hepatic stellate cells, extracellular matrix and Notch signalling pathways. The ignored phenotype, with scarce immune cell infiltration across all subregions, was associated with MAPK signalling pathway elevation and a poor prognosis. The excluded and ignored phenotypes, constituting non-inflamed phenotypes, shared features of an increased angiogenesis score, TGF-β and Wnt-β catenin pathway upregulation and were enriched for BAP1 mutations and FGFR2 fusions. Conclusion: We identified three spatial immunophenotypes with different overall prognoses in iCCA. Tailored therapies based on the distinct immune evasion mechanisms of the spatial immunophenotypes are needed. Impact and implications: The contribution of immune cell infiltration in the invasive margin and peritumour areas has been proved. We explored the multiregional immune contexture of 192 patients to identify three spatial immunophenotypes in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA). By integrating genomic and transcriptomic data, phenotype-specific biological behaviours and potential immune escape mechanisms were analysed. Our findings provide a rationale to develop personalized therapies for iCCA.

Published in JHEP Reports

ISSN: 2589-5559 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Specialties of internal medicine: Diseases of the digestive system. Gastroenterology
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/jhep-reports

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