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Abstract The immune cell types as well as tumor microenvironment (TME) status may influence prognosis, metastasis, tumor progression, and clinical response to immunotherapies for cancer. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a typical highly heterogeneous solid tumor with high morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in China, however, the immune microenvironment of HCC, especially which caused by cancerogenic substance has not been clarified so far. In this study, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) on diethylnitrosamine (DEN) -induced mouse HCC model to dissect the immune cell dynamics during tumorigenesis. Our findings reveal distinct immune profiles in both precancerous and cancerous lesions, indicating early tumor-associated immunological alterations. Notably, specific T and B cell subpopulations are preferentially enriched in the HCC TME. Furthermore, we identified a subpopulation of naïve B cells with high CD83 expression, correlating with improved prognosis in human HCC. These signature genes were validated in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) HCC RNA-seq dataset. Moreover, cell interaction analysis revealed that subpopulations of B cells in both mouse and human samples are activated and may potentially contribute to oncogenic processes. In summary, our study provides insights into the dynamic immune microenvironment and cellular networks in HCC pathogenesis, with a specific emphasis on naïve B cells. These findings emphasize the significance of targeting TME in HCC patients to prevent HCC pathological progression, which may give a new perspective on the therapeutics for the HCC. Citation Format: Jian He. Leveraging single cell RNA-seq for uncovering immune landscape of hepatocellular carcinoma abstract. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts) ; 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84 (6Suppl): Abstract nr 7039.
Jian He (Fri,) studied this question.