Background <p>Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) maturity and cellular composition shape resistance or sensitivity to immune-checkpoint blockade (ICB) across cancers. Single-cell spatial resolution data for the endothelial compartment of TLSs are lacking; therefore, we investigated the cellular composition, endothelial dynamics, and cell-cell interactions within TLS regions.</p> Methods <p>We applied high-resolution Xenium In Situ spatial transcriptomics to eight samples collected from non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLC) (four after chemoimmunotherapy, four untreated), extracted 90 TLS regions, generated approximately 320,000 single-cell profiles from those regions, and analyzed the endothelial compartment within each TLS. We independently assessed the exploratory findings using multiplex immunofluorescence and survival analysis in a separate cohort of 45 patients receiving immunotherapy.</p> Results <p>Spatial mapping revealed a reproducible, B-cell-dominant TLS architecture across all samples. Mature TLSs contained CXCL13-rich follicular cores and were associated with a favorable prognosis. Within the endothelial compartment, high endothelial cells (HECs) forming high-endothelial venules (HEVs) segregated from other endothelial cells; in mature TLSs these HECs exhibited high inhibitor of DNA binding 1 (<i>ID1</i>) expression and an adhesion molecular signature, promoting lymphocyte recruitment. Patients with tumors harboring ID1-high HEVs showed higher response rates and pronounced survival advantage; multivariable analysis confirmed ID1-high status as an independent prognostic factor. Conversely, ICB exposure eventually reduced ID1 expression and adhesion molecule levels in HECs, impaired lymphocyte trafficking, and promoted a shift toward a remodeled endothelial state.</p> Conclusions <p>ID1expression, linked to HEC differentiation during TLS maturation or ICB exposure, marks a functionally mature, lymphocyte-recruiting HEV that predict durable response to immunotherapy. These findings provide a novel mechanistic framework and practical biomarkers for HEV-centered immuno-oncology strategies in NSCLC.</p>

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Single-cell spatial analysis identifies ID1-high endothelial cells in tertiary lymphoid structures as predictors of durable response to immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer

  • Kinnosuke Matsumoto,
  • Yoshimi Noda,
  • Kensuke Hachiya,
  • Fumitaka Muramatsu,
  • Naoki Okamoto,
  • Weizhen Jia,
  • Takayuki Shiroyama,
  • Masahide Mori,
  • Motohiro Tamiya,
  • Yuhei Kinehara,
  • Akihiro Tamiya,
  • Shigeki Shimizu,
  • Hidekazu Suzuki,
  • Kiyonobu Ueno,
  • Toshie Niki,
  • Satoshi Tetsumoto,
  • Osamu Morimura,
  • Akio Osa,
  • Toshiyuki Minami,
  • Satoshi Nojima,
  • Yoshito Takeda,
  • Yasushi Shintani,
  • Atsushi Kumanogoh,
  • Nobuyuki Takakura

摘要

Background

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) maturity and cellular composition shape resistance or sensitivity to immune-checkpoint blockade (ICB) across cancers. Single-cell spatial resolution data for the endothelial compartment of TLSs are lacking; therefore, we investigated the cellular composition, endothelial dynamics, and cell-cell interactions within TLS regions.

Methods

We applied high-resolution Xenium In Situ spatial transcriptomics to eight samples collected from non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLC) (four after chemoimmunotherapy, four untreated), extracted 90 TLS regions, generated approximately 320,000 single-cell profiles from those regions, and analyzed the endothelial compartment within each TLS. We independently assessed the exploratory findings using multiplex immunofluorescence and survival analysis in a separate cohort of 45 patients receiving immunotherapy.

Results

Spatial mapping revealed a reproducible, B-cell-dominant TLS architecture across all samples. Mature TLSs contained CXCL13-rich follicular cores and were associated with a favorable prognosis. Within the endothelial compartment, high endothelial cells (HECs) forming high-endothelial venules (HEVs) segregated from other endothelial cells; in mature TLSs these HECs exhibited high inhibitor of DNA binding 1 (ID1) expression and an adhesion molecular signature, promoting lymphocyte recruitment. Patients with tumors harboring ID1-high HEVs showed higher response rates and pronounced survival advantage; multivariable analysis confirmed ID1-high status as an independent prognostic factor. Conversely, ICB exposure eventually reduced ID1 expression and adhesion molecule levels in HECs, impaired lymphocyte trafficking, and promoted a shift toward a remodeled endothelial state.

Conclusions

ID1expression, linked to HEC differentiation during TLS maturation or ICB exposure, marks a functionally mature, lymphocyte-recruiting HEV that predict durable response to immunotherapy. These findings provide a novel mechanistic framework and practical biomarkers for HEV-centered immuno-oncology strategies in NSCLC.