Presence of onco-fetal neighborhoods in hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with relapse and response to immunotherapy

Abstract

Onco-fetal reprogramming of the tumor ecosystem induces fetal developmental signatures in the tumor microenvironment, leading to immunosuppressive features. Here, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics and bulk RNA sequencing to delineate specific cell subsets involved in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) relapse and response to immunotherapy. We identified POSTN⁺ extracellular matrix cancer-associated fibroblasts (EM CAFs) as a prominent onco-fetal interacting hub, promoting tumor progression. Cell-cell communication and spatial transcriptomics analysis revealed crosstalk and co-localization of onco-fetal cells, including POSTN⁺ CAFs, FOLR2⁺ macrophages and PLVAP⁺ endothelial cells. Further analyses suggest an association between onco-fetal reprogramming and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), tumor cell proliferation and recruitment of T_reg cells, ultimately influencing early relapse and response to immunotherapy. In summary, our study identifies POSTN⁺ CAFs as part of the HCC onco-fetal niche and highlights its potential influence in EMT, relapse and immunotherapy response, paving the way for the use of onco-fetal signatures for therapeutic stratification.