Surgery/anesthesia may cause monocytes to promote tumor development

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Surgical Oncology
• Cellular Biology

Background:

• Major surgery triggers significant perioperative immune responses impacting patient prognosis.
• Understanding surgery/anesthesia effects on immune cells is crucial for patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of surgery and anesthesia on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using single-cell sequencing.
• To analyze changes in immune cell populations and function during the perioperative period.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of previously published single-cell sequencing data from 4 patients.
• PBMC isolation from blood samples collected pre-operation and at 0, 24, and 48 hours post-operation.
• Utilized R packages (Seurat, scSTAR) for analysis and RT-PCR for gene expression verification.

Main Results:

• CD4+, CD8+ T cell function recovered rapidly; however, Treg function remained impaired up to 48 hours post-operation.
• Non-classical monocytes were significantly affected by surgery, with no signs of recovery within 48 hours.
• Gene expression analysis revealed increased MDM2 and SESN1 levels in tumor patients post-surgery.

Conclusions:

• Surgery/anesthesia minimally affected CD4+ and CD8+ T cells but persistently altered Treg function.
• Monocytes were notably impacted, suggesting a potential role in promoting tumor development post-operatively.