Your new experience awaits. Try the new design now and help us make it even better

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.

Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1649147

This article is part of the Research TopicTumor Microenvironment: Inflammation and Immune Signal Transduction at Single-Cell ResolutionView all 9 articles

Targeted and personalized immunotherapy in lung adenocarcinoma: Single-cell RNA sequencing of MAFF+ tumor cells and the therapeutic potential of FOS

Provisionally accepted
Xiangsong  ChengXiangsong Cheng1,2,3Shu  ChenShu Chen4Yilong  FuYilong Fu5Runze  JiangRunze Jiang6Yanlong  JingYanlong Jing4Bizhu  ZhaoBizhu Zhao5Dong  GuoDong Guo5Liangyu  WangLiangyu Wang5Zi  YeZi Ye7Yumeng  LiYumeng Li6*Xianliang  ChenXianliang Chen1,2,3*
  • 1Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
  • 2Central China Fuwai Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
  • 3Fuwai Central China Cardiovascular Hospital & Central China Branch of National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Zhengzhou, China
  • 4Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
  • 5Clinical Medicine, The First Clinical School of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
  • 6Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
  • 7Department of Scientific Research, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was a major cause of cancer-related mortality globally. Despite advancements in immunotherapy and targeted therapies, clinical outcomes were still limited by tumor heterogeneity and treatment resistance. The transcription factor (TF) FOS, a key component of the AP-1 complex, was linked to tumor progression and therapy resistance in various cancers, but its precise mechanisms remained unclear, and its role in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) was unknown. We investigated the tumor microenvironment (TME) of LUAD using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to identify potential therapeutic vulnerabilities and FOS-driven mechanisms. Methods: We identified fourteen cell types by analyzing scRNA-seq data from LUAD samples (GSE164789) using Seurat (v4.4.0) and Harmony for batch correction. InferCNV was utilized to characterize the tumor cell subtypes after they were clustered using marker genes. CytoTRACE and Monocle were used to create pseudotime trajectories in order to map differentiation states. CellChat revealed intercellular communication networks, while SCENIC identified TF regulatory modules. The CCK-8, Edu, Transwell, and wound healing assays showed that FOS knockdown functionally validated A549 and NCI-H1975 cells. Furthermore, a prognostic model was developed. Results: We discovered that invasive LUAD was dominated by a highly stem-like C0 MAFF+ tumor cell subtype that produced chemokines and activated lipid metabolism. These cells stimulated immunosuppression and tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) differentiation by interacting with macrophages via MIF-(CD74+CD44) signaling. Experiments using FOS knockdown demonstrated its role in maintaining invasion, migration, and proliferation. Using the MTRS model, patients were categorized into high- and low-risk cohorts, high-risk patients exhibited unique drug sensitivities. Immunoprofile analysis revealed higher M1 macrophages in high-risk patients, suggesting that FOS inhibition could repolarize TAMs and enhance immunotherapies Conclusion: Our studies show that FOS is a main regulator of C0 MAFF+ TCs in LUAD, polarizing macrophages via MIF and rewiring lipid metabolism to support cancer. The MTRS model offers clinical value for risk assessment even if FOS inhibition shows promise as a therapeutic approach to raise immunotherapy efficacy. Targeting the FOS could cause TME immunosuppression to be disrupted, thus LUAD presents a fresh precision oncology approach.

Keywords: Lung Adenocarcinoma, MAFF, Tumor Microenvironment, Fos, Immunotherapy, drug sensitivity

Received: 18 Jun 2025; Accepted: 08 Aug 2025.

Copyright: Ā© 2025 Cheng, Chen, Fu, Jiang, Jing, Zhao, Guo, Wang, Ye, Li and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Yumeng Li, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
Xianliang Chen, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.