Journal: Clinical Cancer Research
Article Title: Extracellular Matrix–MYCAF Signatures Correlate with Resistance to Neoadjuvant aPD-L1 Immune Checkpoint Inhibition with Durvalumab + Metformin in HPV+ HNSCC
doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-25-1098
Figure Lengend Snippet: Posttreatment TME changes and cytokine enrichment in responders and nonresponders. A, Heatmap displaying transcriptomic profiles from posttreatment RNA-seq, illustrating changes in key TME features, including angiogenesis, immune infiltration, and EMT signatures. B, Sankey diagram showing shifts in TME classification from baseline (Pre) to posttreatment (Post) in responders and nonresponders, highlighting transitions between IE, IE-F, F, and depleted (D) phenotypes. C and D, NES for hallmark cytokine pathways (IFNα, IFNγ, TNFα, and TGFβ) in bulk RNA and spatial compartments PanCKe, CD163e, and CD45e, comparing baseline vs. posttreatment samples in responders ( C ) and nonresponders ( D ). Statistically significant differences ( P < 0.05) are indicated by gray bars. E, Box plot showing the percent expression of CD1a at baseline between responders and nonresponders. Quantification of CD1a staining is based on percent CD1a-positive cells in three regions per sample ( n = 15 responders; n = 12 nonresponders), with responders exhibiting a 2.25-fold higher average CD1a expression compared with nonresponders (*, P = 0.0294). F, Box plot showing the mean distances between CD8 + and FOXP3+ cells at baseline in responders and nonresponders. No statistically significant difference was observed (*, P = 0.74). G, Representative CD1a IHC staining images from a baseline responder (left) and nonresponder (right) biopsy sample. Scale bar, 50 microns. NR, nonresponder; Pre R, baseline responders; R, nonresponder. (Created with BioRender.com. Llerena, P., and Samarah, H. [2025] https://BioRender.com/nf4luru .)
Article Snippet: Paraffin sections of pretreatment biopsies from the same subjects used for bulk RNA-seq analyses (five responders; four nonresponders) were stained with antibody to CD1a, Langerhans’s cell marker (Cell Marque 101R-14, Sigma) using a three-step avidin–biotin method.
Techniques: RNA Sequencing, Expressing, Staining, Immunohistochemistry