Fig. 4: apCAFs modulated immune profile and promoted antitumor immune response.

A Schematic representation of apCAFs adoptive transfer in vivo experiments. Created in BioRender. Song, J. (2024) https://BioRender.com/j06i038. B Tumor growth curves showing tumor volume in mice from control group, apCAFs group and MHC II^- CAFs group (n = 5 mice/per group). Error bars represent the mean ± SD. Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA, followed by a two-sided Dunnett’s test to compare the specific differences between the groups. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. C Distribution of immune cell clusters in tumors from control, apCAFs and MHC II^- CAFs groups (n = 2 mice/per group). D The proportion immune cell clusters in tumors from control, apCAFs and MHC II^- CAFs groups (n = 2 mice/per group). E Relative proportion of total CD4⁺ T, CD69⁺CD4⁺ T cells, IFN-γ⁺CD4⁺ T cells and GZMB⁺CD4⁺ T cells in tumors from control, apCAFs and MHC II^- CAFs groups (n = 5 mice/per group). Error bars represent the mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA, followed by a two-sided Dunnett’s test to compare the specific differences between the groups. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. F Relative proportion of total CD8⁺ T, GZMB⁺CD8⁺ T cells, IFN-γ⁺CD8⁺ T cells and TNF⁺CD8⁺ T cells in tumors from control, apCAFs and MHC II^- CAFs groups (n = 5 mice/per group). Error bars represent the mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA, followed by a two-sided Dunnett’s test to compare the specific differences between the groups. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. G The concentration of IFN-γ within tumors from control, apCAFs and MHC II^- CAFs groups (n = 5 mice/per group). The box is bounded by the first and third quartile with a horizontal line at the median and whiskers extend to the maximum and minimum value. Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA, followed by a two-sided Dunnett’s test to compare the specific differences between the groups. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. H The concentration of TNF within tumors from control, apCAFs and MHC II^- CAFs groups (n = 5 mice/per group). The box is bounded by the first and third quartile with a horizontal line at the median and whiskers extend to the maximum and minimum value. Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA, followed by a two-sided Dunnett’s test to compare the specific differences between the groups. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. I Representative images of multiplex immunofluorescence showing T cell marker (green: CD3) and cytotoxic molecule (red: GZMB) expression in the high apCAFs group (n = 80) and low apCAFs group (n = 60) from the FUSCC cohort. J Relative proportion of overall T cells (CD3⁺ cells) and cytotoxic T cells (GZMB⁺CD3⁺ cells) in high apCAFs group (n = 70) and low apCAFs group (n = 70) in FUSCC cohort. Error bars represent the mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined using Mann–Whitney two-sided test. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.