{"entity": "publication", "iuid": "0f606da968514232b812e2907f5d0993", "timestamp": "2026-10-06T17:27:30.599Z", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/0f606da968514232b812e2907f5d0993.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/0f606da968514232b812e2907f5d0993"}}, "title": "Single-cell analysis of myeloid cells in HPV+ tonsillar cancer.", "authors": [{"family": "Jimenez", "given": "David Gomez", "initials": "DG"}, {"family": "Altunbulakli", "given": "Can", "initials": "C"}, {"family": "Swoboda", "given": "Sabine", "initials": "S"}, {"family": "Sobti", "given": "Aastha", "initials": "A"}, {"family": "Askmyr", "given": "David", "initials": "D"}, {"family": "Ali", "given": "Ashfaq", "initials": "A"}, {"family": "Greiff", "given": "Lennart", "initials": "L"}, {"family": "Lindstedt", "given": "Malin", "initials": "M"}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2023-01-19", "journal": {"title": "Front Immunol", "issn": "1664-3224", "volume": "13", "pages": "1087843", "issn-l": "1664-3224"}, "abstract": "The incidence of human papillomavirus-positive (HPV+) tonsillar cancer has been sharply rising during the last decades. Myeloid cells represent an appropriate therapeutic target due to their proximity to virus-infected tumor cells, and their ability to orchestrate antigen-specific immunity, within the tonsil. However, the interrelationship of steady-state and inflammatory myeloid cell subsets, and their impact on patient survival remains unexplored. Here, we used single-cell RNA-sequencing to map the myeloid compartment in HPV+ tonsillar cancer. We observed an expansion of the myeloid compartment in HPV+ tonsillar cancer, accompanied by interferon-induced cellular responses both in dendritic cells (DCs) and monocyte-macrophages. Our analysis unveiled the existence of four DC lineages, two macrophage polarization processes, and their sequential maturation profiles. Within the DC lineages, we described a balance shift in the frequency of progenitor and mature cDC favoring the cDC1 lineage in detriment of cDC2s. Furthermore, we observed that all DC lineages apart from DC5s matured into a common activated DC transcriptional program involving upregulation of interferon-inducible genes. In turn, the monocyte-macrophage lineage was subjected to early monocyte polarization events, which give rise to either interferon-activated or CXCL-producing macrophages, the latter enriched in advanced tumor stages. We validated the existence of most of the single-cell RNA-seq clusters using 26-plex flow cytometry, and described a positive impact of cDC1 and interferon-activated DCs and macrophages on patient survival using gene signature scoring. The current study contributes to the understanding of myeloid ontogeny and dynamics in HPV-driven tonsillar cancer, and highlights myeloid biomarkers that can be used to assess patient prognosis.", "doi": "10.3389/fimmu.2022.1087843", "pmid": "36741389", "labels": [], "xrefs": [{"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC9893928"}], "notes": [], "created": "2026-09-23T12:54:26.205Z", "modified": "2026-09-23T12:54:26.229Z"}