XCL1+ CD8+ T細胞が肝細胞癌の治療標的であることを明らかにする単一細胞解析

XCL1 (lymphotactin), a C-chemokine primarily produced by activated CD8+ T cells, remains poorly characterized in the context of immunotherapy. Here, we conducted comprehensive analyses based on multiple scRNA-seq datasets to identify the presence of XCL1+ CD8+ T cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumor microenvironment. Multiplex Immunohistochemistry and clinical data revealed that the infiltration of this cell population correlated with favorable outcomes. Cell-cell communication demonstrated interactions between XCL1+ CD8+ T cells and NK cells or myeloid cells via CD99 and MIF signaling pathways, respectively. These findings were further supported by spatial transcriptomic data. Using two independent bulk RNA-seq datasets, we found the mean of expression of XCL1 and CD8A could be an independent factor for prognosis of HCC, and next built a prediction score with five marker genes involved in XCL1+ CD8+ T cell population. Our findings proposed that XCL1 may play a key role in anti-tumor immunity and XCL1+ CD8+ T cell population could be a potential target to improve responses for immunotherapy in HCC.