Cancer specific up-regulated lactate genes associated with immunotherapy resistance in a pan-cancer analysis

Background: Although the lactate pathway has been reported to lead to immune escape through the inhibition of effector T cells, the cancer-intrinsic lactate signature has not been identified, and the immunotherapeutic efficacy and potential mechanism of the lactate signature are still unclear. Metho...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shuiting Fu, Jiachen Xu, Chunming Wang, Cheng Zhang, Chengcheng Li, Wenchuan Xie, Guoqiang Wang, Xin Zhu, Yuyan Xu, Yaohong Wen, Jingyuan Pei, Jun Yang, Mingyang Tang, Hongkun Tan, Shangli Cai, Lei Cai, Mingxin Pan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Heliyon
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024155223
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850244842107437056
author Shuiting Fu
Jiachen Xu
Chunming Wang
Cheng Zhang
Chengcheng Li
Wenchuan Xie
Guoqiang Wang
Xin Zhu
Yuyan Xu
Yaohong Wen
Jingyuan Pei
Jun Yang
Mingyang Tang
Hongkun Tan
Shangli Cai
Lei Cai
Mingxin Pan
author_facet Shuiting Fu
Jiachen Xu
Chunming Wang
Cheng Zhang
Chengcheng Li
Wenchuan Xie
Guoqiang Wang
Xin Zhu
Yuyan Xu
Yaohong Wen
Jingyuan Pei
Jun Yang
Mingyang Tang
Hongkun Tan
Shangli Cai
Lei Cai
Mingxin Pan
author_sort Shuiting Fu
collection DOAJ
description Background: Although the lactate pathway has been reported to lead to immune escape through the inhibition of effector T cells, the cancer-intrinsic lactate signature has not been identified, and the immunotherapeutic efficacy and potential mechanism of the lactate signature are still unclear. Methods: We defined a pan-cancer up-lactate score by comparing malignant tissues and normal tissues in the TCGA cohort. The immunotherapeutic efficacy was evaluated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), metastatic renal cancer (mRCC), bladder cancer (BLCA) and melanoma cohorts. The cancer cell-intrinsic mechanism to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) resistance was measured using single cell sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. Pathway activation was evaluated in the TCGA cohort and CPTAC cohort with transcriptomics and proteomics. The co-occurrence of up-lactate signature and mTOR signaling was determined by spatial transcriptomics of the tissue samples. Immunotherapy resistance and pathway regulation were validated in the in-house NSCLC cohort. Results: Patients with the high up-lactate scores had significantly short overall survival (OS) than those with the low up-lactate scores (p < 0.001) across multiple types of cancers. The up-regulated lactate signature exhibited higher expression in the malignant cells compared with stromal cells and immune cells in multiple scRNA-seq datasets. A high up-lactate score was associated with poor OS in NSCLC, mRCC, BLCA and melanoma patients who received anti-PD(L)1 antibody. The up-lactate score was higher in the responders of cancer cells, but not in immune cells and stromal cells compared with the non-responders (p < 0.05). Moreover, up-lactate score was positively correlated with mTOR signaling across multiple cancers. In patients with NSCLC who received anti-PD-1 antibody, higher up-lactate scores were associated with significantly shorter PFS compared to lower up-lactate scores (p < 0.001). Additionally, the up-lactate score was associated with cold tumor, and was positively correlated with mTOR signaling. Conclusion: Collectively, we defined a pan-cancer up-lactate signature, which is a feature of malignant cells and is associated with ICIs resistance. This reveals a coherent program with prognostic and predictive value that may be therapeutically targeted.
format Article
id doaj-art-7d3bc8d667ab416688a034b4a09ff527
institution OA Journals
issn 2405-8440
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Heliyon
spelling doaj-art-7d3bc8d667ab416688a034b4a09ff5272025-08-20T01:59:38ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402024-12-011023e3949110.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39491Cancer specific up-regulated lactate genes associated with immunotherapy resistance in a pan-cancer analysisShuiting Fu0Jiachen Xu1Chunming Wang2Cheng Zhang3Chengcheng Li4Wenchuan Xie5Guoqiang Wang6Xin Zhu7Yuyan Xu8Yaohong Wen9Jingyuan Pei10Jun Yang11Mingyang Tang12Hongkun Tan13Shangli Cai14Lei Cai15Mingxin Pan16Department of Oral &amp; Maxillofacial - Head &amp; Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai, 200011, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences &amp; Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital/Guangdong Provincial Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Translational Medicine in Lung Cancer, ChinaGeneral Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510280, ChinaGeneral Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510280, ChinaBurning Rock Biotech, Guangzhou, 510300, ChinaBurning Rock Biotech, Guangzhou, 510300, ChinaBurning Rock Biotech, Guangzhou, 510300, ChinaBurning Rock Biotech, Guangzhou, 510300, ChinaGeneral Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510280, ChinaGeneral Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510280, ChinaGeneral Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510280, ChinaGeneral Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510280, ChinaGeneral Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510280, ChinaGeneral Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510280, ChinaBurning Rock Biotech, Guangzhou, 510300, ChinaGeneral Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510280, China; Corresponding author. General Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510280, China.General Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510280, China; Corresponding author. General Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510280, China.Background: Although the lactate pathway has been reported to lead to immune escape through the inhibition of effector T cells, the cancer-intrinsic lactate signature has not been identified, and the immunotherapeutic efficacy and potential mechanism of the lactate signature are still unclear. Methods: We defined a pan-cancer up-lactate score by comparing malignant tissues and normal tissues in the TCGA cohort. The immunotherapeutic efficacy was evaluated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), metastatic renal cancer (mRCC), bladder cancer (BLCA) and melanoma cohorts. The cancer cell-intrinsic mechanism to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) resistance was measured using single cell sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. Pathway activation was evaluated in the TCGA cohort and CPTAC cohort with transcriptomics and proteomics. The co-occurrence of up-lactate signature and mTOR signaling was determined by spatial transcriptomics of the tissue samples. Immunotherapy resistance and pathway regulation were validated in the in-house NSCLC cohort. Results: Patients with the high up-lactate scores had significantly short overall survival (OS) than those with the low up-lactate scores (p < 0.001) across multiple types of cancers. The up-regulated lactate signature exhibited higher expression in the malignant cells compared with stromal cells and immune cells in multiple scRNA-seq datasets. A high up-lactate score was associated with poor OS in NSCLC, mRCC, BLCA and melanoma patients who received anti-PD(L)1 antibody. The up-lactate score was higher in the responders of cancer cells, but not in immune cells and stromal cells compared with the non-responders (p < 0.05). Moreover, up-lactate score was positively correlated with mTOR signaling across multiple cancers. In patients with NSCLC who received anti-PD-1 antibody, higher up-lactate scores were associated with significantly shorter PFS compared to lower up-lactate scores (p < 0.001). Additionally, the up-lactate score was associated with cold tumor, and was positively correlated with mTOR signaling. Conclusion: Collectively, we defined a pan-cancer up-lactate signature, which is a feature of malignant cells and is associated with ICIs resistance. This reveals a coherent program with prognostic and predictive value that may be therapeutically targeted.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024155223LactateImmunosuppressionImmune checkpoint inhibitorCancer intrinsic feature
spellingShingle Shuiting Fu
Jiachen Xu
Chunming Wang
Cheng Zhang
Chengcheng Li
Wenchuan Xie
Guoqiang Wang
Xin Zhu
Yuyan Xu
Yaohong Wen
Jingyuan Pei
Jun Yang
Mingyang Tang
Hongkun Tan
Shangli Cai
Lei Cai
Mingxin Pan
Cancer specific up-regulated lactate genes associated with immunotherapy resistance in a pan-cancer analysis
Heliyon
Lactate
Immunosuppression
Immune checkpoint inhibitor
Cancer intrinsic feature
title Cancer specific up-regulated lactate genes associated with immunotherapy resistance in a pan-cancer analysis
title_full Cancer specific up-regulated lactate genes associated with immunotherapy resistance in a pan-cancer analysis
title_fullStr Cancer specific up-regulated lactate genes associated with immunotherapy resistance in a pan-cancer analysis
title_full_unstemmed Cancer specific up-regulated lactate genes associated with immunotherapy resistance in a pan-cancer analysis
title_short Cancer specific up-regulated lactate genes associated with immunotherapy resistance in a pan-cancer analysis
title_sort cancer specific up regulated lactate genes associated with immunotherapy resistance in a pan cancer analysis
topic Lactate
Immunosuppression
Immune checkpoint inhibitor
Cancer intrinsic feature
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024155223
work_keys_str_mv AT shuitingfu cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT jiachenxu cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT chunmingwang cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT chengzhang cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT chengchengli cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT wenchuanxie cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT guoqiangwang cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT xinzhu cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT yuyanxu cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT yaohongwen cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT jingyuanpei cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT junyang cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT mingyangtang cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT hongkuntan cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT shanglicai cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT leicai cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis
AT mingxinpan cancerspecificupregulatedlactategenesassociatedwithimmunotherapyresistanceinapancanceranalysis