The largest and most comprehensive single-cell profile of tumor infiltration B cells and plasma cells to date

Through extensive single-cell analysis, researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have created spatial maps of tumor-infiltrated B cells and plasma cells in early lung cancer, highlighting the previously unappreciated role these immune cells play in tumor development and treatment outcomes

The study, published in the journal Cancer Cell, represents the largest and most comprehensive single-cell atlas of tumor-infiltrating B cells and plasma cells to date, which can be used to develop new immunotherapy strategies

"We know that the tumor microenvironment plays an important role in regulating tumor growth and metastasis, but our understanding of these interactions is not yet complete

Improved screening methods have increased the proportion of early diagnosis of

Previous research co-led by Wang and her colleagues found that B-line cells are critical

To better understand the role of these cells in the early development of lung cancer, the researchers performed a single-cell analysis of 16 tumors and 47 matched normal lung tissues

The researchers sequenced single-cell RNA on about 50,000 unique B cells and plasma cells to analyze their gene expression profiles

The study identified 12 distinct subsets of cells with high concentrations of more differentiated cells (memory B cells and plasma cells) in tumors compared to neighboring normal

Kadara, corresponding author of the study, said: "This level of detailed analysis highlights the dynamic interactions between tumors and their surrounding immune microenvironments

For example, tumors in smokers have higher plasma cells and lower b-cell clones

By studying single-cell data and spatial information from tumors, the researchers also demonstrated that most B cells and plasma cells are recruited to sites

The different morphologies of B cells and plasma cells in tumors also appear to influence prognosis and treatment response

"Most previous studies have treated tumor-infiltrating B cells or plasma cells as homogeneous populations, but our in-depth analysis highlights the heterogeneity of these cells and their crosstalk with other components of the tumor microenvironment," Wang said

Future studies will build on the basis provided in this study to clarify the exact role of B cells and plasma cells in early lung tumor progression and to identify the most promising treatment strategies

This study was supported by MD Anderson, Johnson & Johnson, National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institutes (R01CA205608, U01CA264583, 1U2CCA233238, P50CA070907, P50CA016672, T32CA217789) and the Texas Cancer Prevention and Research Institute (RP220101, RP160668).