Bulk anda single-cell transcriptome profiling reveals the molecular characteristics of T cell-mediated tumor killing in pancreatic cancer

Yin-Wei Dai; Ya-Ting Pan; Dan-Feng Lin; Xiao-Hu Chen; Xiang Zhou; Wei-Ming Wang

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27216

Bulk anda single-cell transcriptome profiling reveals the molecular characteristics of T cell-mediated tumor killing in pancreatic cancer

Heliyon. 2024 Feb 28;10(5):e27216. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27216. eCollection 2024 Mar 15.

Authors

Yin-Wei Dai¹, Ya-Ting Pan², Dan-Feng Lin¹, Xiao-Hu Chen³, Xiang Zhou¹, Wei-Ming Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
² Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
³ Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
⁴ Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.

Abstract

Background: Despite the potential of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) as a promising treatment for Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD), there is still a need to identify specific subgroups of PAAD patients who may benefit more from ICB. T cell-mediated tumor killing (TTK) is the primary concept behind ICB. We explored subtypes according to genes correlated with the sensitivity to TKK and unraveled their underlying associations for PAAD immunotherapies.

Methods: Genes that control the responsiveness of T cell-induced tumor destruction (GSTTK) were examined in PAAD, focusing on their varying expression levels and association with survival results. Moreover, samples with PAAD were separated into two subsets using unsupervised clustering based on GSTTK. Variability was evident in the tumor immune microenvironment, genetic mutation, and response to immunotherapy among different groups. In the end, we developed TRGscore, an innovative scoring system, and investigated its clinical and predictive significance in determining sensitivity to immunotherapy.

Results: Patients with PAAD were categorized into 2 clusters based on the expression of 52 GSTTKs, which showed varying levels and prognostic relevance, revealing unique TTK patterns. Survival outcome, immune cell infiltration, immunotherapy responses, and functional enrichment are also distinguished among the two clusters. Moreover, we found the CATSPER1 gene promotes the progression of PAAD through experiments. In addition, the TRGscore effectively predicted the responses to chemotherapeutics or immunotherapy in patients with PAAD and overall survival.

Conclusions: TTK exerted a vital influence on the tumor immune environment in PAAD. A greater understanding of TIME characteristics was gained through the evaluation of the variations in TTK modes across different tumor types. It highlights variations in the performance of T cells in PAAD and provides direction for improved treatment approaches.

Keywords: Immunotherapy; Pancreatic adenocarcinoma; Single-cell sequencing; T cell-mediated tumor killing; Tumor immune microenvironment.