近日，美国德克萨斯大学教授Huocong Huang及其小组的最新研究提出了单细胞分辨率下抗原呈递癌症相关成纤维细胞微空间的空间分析。2025年9月25日出版的《癌细胞》发表了这项成果。

为了全面了解apCAFs的起源和功能，该课题组构建了横跨15种组织和实体肿瘤的成纤维细胞分子图谱。他们的整合研究意外地揭示了两种不同的apCAF群体存在于大多数癌症类型中：一种与间皮样细胞相关，另一种与纤维细胞相关。利用高分辨率单细胞空间成像平台，研究团队描述了这些apCAF种群的空间生态位。该课题组发现间皮样apCAFs位于癌细胞附近，而纤维细胞样apCAFs与淋巴细胞富集的生态位相关。此外，课题组人员发现这两个apCAF群体都可以上调分泌的磷酸化蛋白1 (SPP1)，这促进了原发性肿瘤的形成、腹膜转移和治疗抵抗。综上所述，本研究为分析apCAFs及其空间生态位提供了前所未有的解决方案。

研究人员表示，最近的研究发现了一种独特的癌症相关成纤维细胞（CAFs）亚型，称为抗原呈递CAFs (apCAFs)，但对其知之甚少。

附：英文原文

Title: Single-cell resolution spatial analysis of antigen-presenting cancer-associated fibroblast niches

Author: Xiongfeng Chen, Zhuan Zhou, Luyu Xie, Kailiang Qiao, Yiyue Jia, Shunheng Liu, Zeynep Yazgan, Francesca Rossi, Yang Liu, Bo Zhang, Patricio M. Polanco, Herbert J. Zeh, Alex C. Kim, Huocong Huang

Issue&Volume: 2025-09-25

Abstract: Recent studies identify a unique subtype of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) termed antigen-presenting CAFs (apCAFs), which remain poorly understood. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the origin and function of apCAFs, we construct a fibroblast molecular atlas across 15 types of tissues and solid tumors. Our integration study unexpectedly reveals two distinct apCAF populations present in most cancer types: one associated with mesothelial-like cells and the other with fibrocytes. Using a high-resolution single-cell spatial imaging platform, we characterize the spatial niches of these apCAF populations. We find that mesothelial-like apCAFs are located near cancer cells, while fibrocyte-like apCAFs are associated with lymphocyte-enriched niches. Additionally, we discovered that both apCAF populations can up-regulate secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1), which facilitates primary tumor formation, peritoneal metastasis, and therapy resistance. Taken together, this study offers an unprecedented resolution in analyzing apCAFs and their spatial niches.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2025.09.001

Source: https://www.cell.com/cancer-cell/abstract/S1535-6108(25)00393-9