AUTHOR=Wang Zhenyu , Zhang Hongbo , Zhai Yanan , Li Fengtong , Shi Xueying , Ying Muying TITLE=Single-Cell Profiling Reveals Heterogeneity of Primary and Lymph Node Metastatic Tumors and Immune Cell Populations and Discovers Important Prognostic Significance of CCDC43 in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.843322 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2022.843322 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=
Although substantial progress has been made in biological research and clinical treatment in recent years, the clinical prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is still not satisfactory. Tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) is a potential target, which plays an essential role in the response of anti-tumor immunity and immunotherapy. In this study, we used scRNA-seq data, revealing the heterogeneity of TIME between metastatic and primary site. We found that in the metastatic site, the content of cytotoxic T cells and classical activated macrophages (M1 macrophages) increases significantly, while alternately activated macrophages (M2 macrophages) and inflammatory cancer-associated fibroblasts (iCAFs) decrease, which may be due to the increased immunogenicity of OSCC cells in the metastatic site and the changes in some signal pathways. We also found that iCAFs may recruit alternately activated macrophages (M2 macrophages) by secreting