Single-cell RNA sequencing of cervical exfoliated cells reveals potential biomarkers and cellular pathogenesis in cervical carcinogenesis

• DOI: 10.1038/s41419-024-06522-y
• Publication Date: 2024-02-12T06:02:37Z
• Authors: Bo Sheng; Shuya Pan; Miaomiao Ye; Hejing Liu; Jiamin Zhang; Bo Zhao; Huihui Ji; Xueqiong Zhu
• Keywords: Squamous intraepithelial lesion

Abstract Cervical cancer (CC) is a common gynecological malignancy. Despite the current screening methods have been proved effectively and significantly decreased CC morbidity mortality, deficiencies still exist. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) approach can identify complex rare cell populations at single-cell resolution. By scRNA-seq, heterogeneity of tumor microenvironment across cervical carcinogenesis has mapped described. Whether these alterations could be detected applied to unclear. Herein, we performed scRNA-seq 56,173 exfoliated cells from 15 samples, including normal cervix, low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), high-grade (HSIL), The present study delineated alteration immune epithelial derived during progression. A subset lipid-associated macrophage was identified as tumor-promoting element serve biomarker for predicting progression LSIL into HSIL, which then verified by immunofluorescence. Furthermore, cell–cell communication analysis indicated SPP1-CD44 axis might exhibit protumor interaction between macrophage. In this study, investigated multicellular ecosystem in potential biomarkers early detection.