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Multiple Nf1 Schwann cell populations reprogram the plexiform neurofibroma tumor microenvironment

ABSTRACT: To define alterations early in tumor formation, we studied nerve tumors in neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1), a tumor predisposition syndrome in which affected individuals develop plexiform neurofibroma (PN). These benign tumors are driven by NF1 loss in Schwann cells (SC). By comparing normal nerve cells to PN cells using single cell and bulk RNA sequencing, we identified changes in five SC populations, including a de novo Schwann cell progenitor-like population. Long after Nf1 loss, SC populations developed PN-specific expression of Dcn, Postn, and CD74, and showed dramatic expansion of immune and stromal cell populations; in human PN, immune and stromal cells comprised 90% of cells. Label transfer enabled verification of each SC population and predicted tumor unique patterns of cell-cell communication in each SC population. We identified PROS-AXL, FGF-FGFR, and MIF-CD74 and its effector pathway NFkB as deregulated in NF1 SC populations, including SCP-like cells. Each receptor-ligand pair was predicted to influence surrounding cells in mouse and human. These findings highlight remarkable changes in all PN cells driven by loss of NF1 in multiple types of SCs and identify therapeutic targets for PN.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE181985 | GEO | 2022/11/23

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Plexiform neurofibroma (PN) are a leading cause of morbidity in Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1), often disfiguring or threatening vital structures. During formation of PN, a complex tumor microenvironment (TME) develops, with recruitment of neoplastic and non-neoplastic cell types being critical for growth and progression. Due to the cohesive cellularity of PN, single-cell RNA-sequencing is difficult and may result in a loss of detection of critical cellular subpopulations, therefor single-nuclei RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq) was applied retrospectively to 8 frozen PN, a large enough sample cohort required to adequately describe the disease TME. Additionally, 4 frozen PN samples were OCT embedded and spatial transcriptomics (ST) was run, adding morphological context to the transcriptomic data generated. Our snRNA-seq analysis definitively charted the heterogeneous cellular subpopulations in the PN TME, with the predominant fraction being fibroblast-like cells. PN have a remarkable amount of inter-sample homogeneity regarding cellular subpopulation proportions despite being resected from a variety of anatomical locations. ST analysis identified distinct cellular subpopulations which were annotated using snRNA-seq data that correlated with histological features. Schwann cell/fibroblast interactions were further characterized by receptor/ligand interaction analysis (CellChat) that was applied to snRNA-seq data. A high probability of Neurexin 1/Neuroligin 1 (NRXN1/NRGLN1) receptor-ligand crosstalk was predicted between non-myelinated Schwann cells (NM_SC) and fibroblast subpopulations, respectively. We observed aberrant expression of NRXN1 and NRGLN1 in our snRNA-seq data versus normal mouse sciatic nerve. This pathway has never been described in PN but has been observed in other NF1-associated tumors and may indicate a clear and direct communication pathway between putative NM_SC cells of origin and surrounding fibroblasts, potentially driving disease progression. SnRNA-seq integrated with spatial transcriptomics advances our understanding of the complex cellular heterogeneity of PN. These data identify potential novel communication pathways that may drive disease progression, a finding that could provide translational therapy options for patients with these devastating tumors of childhood and early adulthood.

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Multiple Nf1 Schwann cell populations reprogram the plexiform neurofibroma tumor microenvironment

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