Spatial Profiling Reveals Immune Escape Pathways and Therapeutic Vulnerabilities in Prostate Cancer Bone Metastases.
TL;DR
Bone metastases showed marked suppression of tumor-intrinsic type I interferon (IFN-I) signaling and loss of antigen presentation, features that were strongly associated with reduced bone metastasis-free survival and could inform precision therapeutic strategies for PCa.
Abstract
Prostate cancer (PCa) frequently metastasizes to bone, marking incurable disease. This progression is driven by an immunologically cold bone tumor microenvironment that fosters resistance to therapy. To define the mechanisms underlying this uniquely immunosuppressive niche, we applied spatial single cell analyses across primary tumors and metastatic sites. Bone metastases showed marked suppression of tumor-intrinsic type I interferon (IFN-I) signaling and loss of antigen presentation, features that were strongly associated with reduced bone metastasis-free survival. Tumor-intrinsic IFN-I expression correlated with memory T cell infiltration, whereas the bone myeloid compartment was enriched for protumor macrophages and showed reduced dendritic cell (DC) activation and antigen presentation. Digital spatial profiling of matched tumors revealed a broad loss of IFN-I-regulated immunostimulatory and checkpoint molecules. Notably, B7-H3, a putative negative regulator of IFN-I, was highly expressed in bone metastases and inversely associated with antigen presentation. These findings define bone-specific mechanisms of immune resistance and highlight therapeutic vulnerabilities that could inform precision therapeutic strategies for PCa.