Background: The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a critical role in shaping tumor progression and determining the outcome of the therapeutic response. In this study, we aimed to generate a comprehensive cellular landscape of the colorectal cancer (CRC) TME.

Methods: We generated a comprehensive single-cell atlas by collecting CRC cases that have been uploaded to the online database and conducting an in-depth secondary analysis. We then carried out spatial transcriptomic sequencing and multiple immunohistochemical analyses to verify the results of the single-cell analysis. Moreover, we applied our findings to the TCGA database and used tissue microarray (TMA) on CRC tissue specimens to validate clinical prognosis.

Findings: We re-analyzed the transcriptomes of 23785 cells, revealing a pattern of cell heterogeneity in the tumor region, leading-edge region, and non-tumor region. A subtype of COL11A1+INHBA+ tumor-resident cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) was identified, and marker genes, transcription factors, and tissue-specific expression differences were noted and suggested to have potential roles in promoting cancer. We further confirmed that COL11A1+INHBA+ tumor-resident CAFs are mainly located in the hypoxic TME and we propose that they interact with CD44+ CRC cells via INHBA. Elevation of INHBA in CRC is associated with a poor prognosis.

Interpretation: Our results demonstrated a single cell landscape of CRC in different regions and identified in hypoxic TME a special subtype of CAFs producing INHBA, which promotes CRC development and correlates with poor prognosis. This special subtype of CAFs is a candidate target for translational research.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9660844PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tranon.2022.101570DOI Listing

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