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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.

Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1537785

This article is part of the Research Topic Immunological Aspects and Immunotherapy in Gynecologic Cancers View all 8 articles

Epithelial and macrophage cell interaction in cervical cancer through single-cell RNA-sequencing and spatial analysis

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 First Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China
  • 2 Second Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China

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

    Background Cervical cancer (CC) is a major global health issue, ranking sixth in cancer-related mortality. The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a crucial role in tumor growth. This study explored the cellular composition and immunological landscape of CC using various genomic data sources.Methods Data from the Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus were analyzed, including single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptome analysis, and survival data. Gene set variation analysis (GSVA) identified pathways in CD8+ cells, macrophages, and epithelial cells. Immunohistochemistry assessed marker expression in CC and normal tissues. Tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) scores differentiated high-and low-macrophage groups. Cell-cell communication analyses highlighted interactions between macrophages and epithelial cells.Macrophage markers correlated with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Epithelial cell subgroups 1 and 4, along with CD8+ T cells, were associated with OS. TIDE scores varied between groups. Specific ligand-receptor 2 interactions were found between macrophages and epithelial cell subgroup 1. Triptolide was effective in epithelial cell subgroup 1, while memantine was more effective in macrophages.Epithelial-macrophage interactions in the TME are crucial for CC progression and treatment, offering a potential immunotherapeutic strategy.

    Keywords: Cervical cancer (CC), Tumor microenvironment (TME), Macrophages, Immunotherapy, cell-cell communication

    Received: 01 Dec 2024; Accepted: 21 Mar 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Cheng, Li and Cheng. 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: Huiyan Cheng, Second Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 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.

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