Immune Suppressive Landscape in the Human Esophageal Squamous Cell
ARTICLE https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20019-0 OPEN Immune suppressive landscape in the human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma microenvironment ✉ Yingxia Zheng 1,2,10 , Zheyi Chen1,10, Yichao Han 3,10, Li Han1,10, Xin Zou4, Bingqian Zhou1, Rui Hu5, Jie Hao4, Shihao Bai4, Haibo Xiao5, Wei Vivian Li6, Alex Bueker7, Yanhui Ma1, Guohua Xie1, Junyao Yang1, ✉ ✉ ✉ Shiyu Chen1, Hecheng Li 3 , Jian Cao 7,8 & Lisong Shen 1,9 1234567890():,; Cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, and it relies heavily on the comprehensive understanding of the immune landscape of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Here, we obtain a detailed immune cell atlas of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) at single-cell resolution. Exhausted T and NK cells, regulatory T cells (Tregs), alternatively activated macrophages and tolerogenic dendritic cells are dominant in the TME. Transcriptional profiling coupled with T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing reveal lineage con- nections in T cell populations. CD8 T cells show continuous progression from pre-exhausted to exhausted T cells. While exhausted CD4, CD8 T and NK cells are major proliferative cell components in the TME, the crosstalk between macrophages and Tregs contributes to potential immunosuppression in the TME. Our results indicate several immunosuppressive mechanisms that may be simultaneously responsible for the failure of immuno-surveillance. Specific targeting of these immunosuppressive pathways may reactivate anti-tumor immune responses in ESCC. 1 Department of Laboratory Medicine, Xin Hua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. 2 Institute of Biliary Tract Diseases Research, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. 3 Department of Thoracic Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
[Show full text]