Development of a new treatment using nanotechnology focusing on cancer-related fibroblasts for scirrhous gastric cancer

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K20943
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0905:Surgery of the organs maintaining homeostasis and related fields
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: MATSUMOTO Sokichi 九州大学, 医学研究院, 共同研究員 (60963626)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-08-31 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: スキルス胃癌 / CAF / DDS / シングルセル遺伝子発現解析

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We performed scRNA-seq focusing on noncomplex poorly differentiated gastric adenocarcinomas (por2), including scirrhous gastric carcinomas. We identified myofibrillary and inflammatory CAFs previously reported in por2 gastric cancer CAFs. Furthermore, the proportion of clusters with high gene expression characteristic of myofibrillary CAFs was higher than that of non-por2 gastric cancers, and pathways involved in cell proliferation were significantly elevated. The heterogeneity of CAFs in por2 gastric cancers suggested that myofibrillary CAFs may suppress CD8-positive T cell infiltration into the tumor. GSEA analysis showed significantly higher neurotransmitter receptor activity in por2 gastric carcinoma, identifying potential therapeutic target molecules among the core enrichment genes.

Free Research Field

医歯薬学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近年、scRNA-seqを用いた研究で、膵癌には筋線維性CAF、炎症性CAF、抗原提示CAFが存在することが報告され、さらに大腸癌では炎症性CAFが予後不良因子であることが示された。しかし、スキルス胃癌CAFのheterogeneityの報告はこれまでにない。