A spatially resolved atlas of gastric cancer characterises a lymphocyte aggregated region [scRNA-seq]

The tumour microenvironment (TME) is a focal point in cancer immunotherapy: its cellular composition and spatial organisation, especially the distribution of lymphocytes, can affect the clinical outcomes of cancer patients. In addition, the function of a cell differs depending on its spatial location and interaction with neighbouring cells. Here, by integrating single-cell transcriptomics with spatial transcriptomics, we survey how the spatial distribution of different cell types varies across diverse histological regions of gastric cancer. Notably, tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs), a tissue architecture harbouring lymphocytes more than any other region within the TME, possess great potential in modulating anti-tumorigenic immunity by elevating an array of genes (FDCSP and CCL19) principally involved in lymphocyte recruitment and activation. Our findings advance the understanding of TLSs in contributing to anti-tumorigenic immunity in a spatially resolved context, which could be further leveraged as a predictive marker for immunotherapy response.