TY - JOUR
T1 - Single-cell melanoma transcriptomes depicting functional versatility and clinical implications of STIM1 in the tumor microenvironment
AU - Wong, Henry Sung Ching
AU - Chang, Wei Chiao
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by grants from the Health and welfare surcharge of tobacco products grant (MOHW110-TDU-B-212-144014; MOHW110-TDU-B-212-144020), Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (MOST109-2314-B-038-131 and MOST109-2628-B-038-012), and Taipei Medical University, Taiwan (12310-106079; Yusuke Nakamura Chair Professorship).
Publisher Copyright:
© The author(s).
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/3
Y1 - 2021/3
N2 - Rationale: Previous studies have implicated the functions of stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) in immunity and malignancy, however, the specificity and effects of STIM1 expression in malignant and non-malignant cells in the tumor microenvironment are unclear. Methods: In the current study, we posed two central questions: (1) does STIM1 expression elicit different cellular programs in cell types within the melanoma tumor microenvironment (2) whether the expression of STIM1 and STIM1-coexpressed genes (SCGs) serve as prognostic indicators of patient’s outcomes? To answer these questions, we dissected cell-specific STIM1-associated cellular programs in diverse cell types within the melanoma tumor microenvironment by measuring cell-type specificity of STIM1 expression and SCGs. Results: A distinct set of SCGs was highly affected in malignant melanoma cells, but not in the other cell types, suggesting the existence of malignant-cell-specific cellular programs reflected by STIM1 expression. In contrast to malignant cells, STIM1 expression appeared to trigger universal and non-specific biological functions in non-malignant cell types, as exemplified by the transcriptomes of macrophages and CD4+ T regulatory cells. Results from bioinformatic analyses indicated that SCGs in malignant cells may alter cell-cell interactions through cytokine/chemokine signaling and/or orchestrate immune infiltration into the tumor. Moreover, a prognostic association between SCGs in CD4+ T regulatory cells and patient’s outcomes was identified. However, we didn’t find any correlation between SCGs and responsiveness of immunotherapy. Conclusions: Overall, our results provide an integrated biological framework for understanding the functional and clinical consequences of cell-specific STIM1 expression in melanoma.
AB - Rationale: Previous studies have implicated the functions of stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) in immunity and malignancy, however, the specificity and effects of STIM1 expression in malignant and non-malignant cells in the tumor microenvironment are unclear. Methods: In the current study, we posed two central questions: (1) does STIM1 expression elicit different cellular programs in cell types within the melanoma tumor microenvironment (2) whether the expression of STIM1 and STIM1-coexpressed genes (SCGs) serve as prognostic indicators of patient’s outcomes? To answer these questions, we dissected cell-specific STIM1-associated cellular programs in diverse cell types within the melanoma tumor microenvironment by measuring cell-type specificity of STIM1 expression and SCGs. Results: A distinct set of SCGs was highly affected in malignant melanoma cells, but not in the other cell types, suggesting the existence of malignant-cell-specific cellular programs reflected by STIM1 expression. In contrast to malignant cells, STIM1 expression appeared to trigger universal and non-specific biological functions in non-malignant cell types, as exemplified by the transcriptomes of macrophages and CD4+ T regulatory cells. Results from bioinformatic analyses indicated that SCGs in malignant cells may alter cell-cell interactions through cytokine/chemokine signaling and/or orchestrate immune infiltration into the tumor. Moreover, a prognostic association between SCGs in CD4+ T regulatory cells and patient’s outcomes was identified. However, we didn’t find any correlation between SCGs and responsiveness of immunotherapy. Conclusions: Overall, our results provide an integrated biological framework for understanding the functional and clinical consequences of cell-specific STIM1 expression in melanoma.
KW - Immune landscape
KW - Single-cell transcriptomic analysis
KW - Stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) melanoma tumor microenvironment
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U2 - 10.7150/thno.54134
DO - 10.7150/thno.54134
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85102447811
SN - 1838-7640
VL - 11
SP - 5092
EP - 5106
JO - Theranostics
JF - Theranostics
IS - 11
ER -