Differences in T-cell counts and neighborhood patterns in human colorectal adenomas and sessile serrated lesions

Abstract

BackgroundT-cell responses influence recurrence and survival in colorectal cancer. T-cell subset distributions vary by molecular phenotype and location, shaping cytotoxic or immune-cold tumor immune microenvironments (TiMEs). However, the T-cell contexture and their spatial proximities within preinvasive lesions are not well characterized. MethodsWe analyzed sessile serrated lesions (SSLs), tubulovillous/villous adenomas (TVs), and tubular adenomas (TAs) from three completed studies (N=120). Whole-slide multiplex immunofluorescence was used to quantify eight T-cell subsets (CD4, CD8, Th1, Th17, Treg, Tc1, Tc17, TcTreg). Counts were compared by histology using a generalized linear mixed model with a negative binomial distribution, including an offset for total cell counts and adjusting for age, sex, anatomic location, and lesion size. Nearest-neighbor (NN) analyses assessed proximities of T-cell pairs across lesion types. ResultsTAs and SSLs had higher CD4 and CD8 T-cell counts compared with TVs (q<0.05). SSLs had lower Th17 counts than TAs (q<0.05) and compared with TVs leaned toward fewer Tregs (q=0.07). NN analysis showed that TVs, compared with SSLs and TAs, had increased Treg clustering. In contrast, TA versus SSL comparisons revealed predominant CD4 clustering with Th17, Th1, and CD8 subsets. ConclusionTVs are characterized by lower T-cell infiltration and a greater tendency for regulatory T-cell clustering, consistent with an immune-cold TiME relative to TAs. SSLs and TAs were both more immune-infiltrated than TVs, but SSLs appeared less inflamed and less dominated by regulatory subsets. In contrast, CD4dominant clustering in TAs suggested stronger helper coordination. Preinvasive lesions therefore demonstrate immune and spatial heterogeneity by lesion types.