SnapShot: TP53 status and macrophages infiltration in TCGA-analyzed tumors

The infiltration of immune cells is a hallmark of most forms of malignancy. It is well known that in Tumor Microenvironment (TME), monocytes undergo reprogramming process to differentiate into Tumor Associated Macrophages (TAMs) (M2 macrophages). Interestingly, this reprogramming process depends on signals provided by tumors. Hence, tumors from several tissues are infiltrated by functionally distinct TAMs populations. Tumor Protein p53(TP53) plays a role in the regulation or progression of DNA damage and repair through multiple mechanisms of the cell cycle, apoptosis, and genomic stability. Although, TP53 acts as a physiological break for M2 macrophages polarization; the potential regulatory function of TP53 in the infiltration of macrophages is still unknown. We used the Cancer Genomic Atlas (TCGA) clinical data from 10,009 samples across 30 types of cancer via the Tumor IMmune Estimation Tool (TIMER) (https://cistrome.shinyapps.io/timer/) to investigate whether TP53 status has an important clinical outcome on macrophages infiltration in different cancer types. Our analysis of TCGA showed that Ovarian Serous Cystadenocarcinoma (OV) patients with mutant TP53 had significantly higher macrophages infiltration than those with wild-type TP53 (P-value < 0.05) and poor prognosis associated. In contrast, Stomach Adenocarcinoma (STAD) patients with wild-type TP53 had considerably higher macrophages infiltration than those with mutant TP53 (P-value < 0.01) and poor clinical outcomes. Herein, our study sheds light on the novel clinical role of TP53 in macrophages infiltration in TME of OV and STAD patients. Furthermore, the modulation of TP53 and its co-regulators may serve as promising targets for OV and STAD patients.