Journal: Frontiers in Immunology
Article Title: Tumor immune microenvironment states inferred from TLS-associated immune-cell composition stratify prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1818138
Figure Lengend Snippet: TLS RiskScore association with response to PD-1 blockade and protein-level implementation in FFPE HCC. (A, B) External anti–PD-1-treated HCC cohort: TLS RiskScore by response status (A) and response rates by TLS RiskScore group using the median cutoff (B) . In (B) , colors indicate the within-group proportions of responders and non-responders within each TLS RiskScore group. (C) Spatial transcriptomics mapping canonical TLS-associated chemokines (CXCL13, CCL19, CCL21) and signature signals for regulatory T cells (Treg) and conventional type 2 dendritic cells (cDC2) in representative HCC sections. (D, E) Representative TLS regions in FFPE HCC illustrating cDC2-predominant versus Treg-predominant cellular composition by H&E and multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) staining (CD11c, CD1c, CD4, FOXP3, CD45, CD21). (F, G) Overall survival (OS) (F) and progression-free survival (PFS) (G) stratified by an mIF-based TLS RiskScore derived from TLS-region Treg (CD4 + FOXP3 + ) and cDC2 (CD11c + CD1c + ) measurements (median cutoff). (H) cDC2 fractions across TLS maturation stages. (I) Treg-to-cDC2 ratio across TLS maturation stages. **P < 0.01 and ****P < 0.0001.
Article Snippet: The antibody panel included CD45 (Aifang, AF20018), CD4 (Aifang, AF20210), FOXP3 (Maxim, MAB-1004), CD11c (Aifang, AF20381), CD21 (Aifang, AF20013), and CD1c (HUABIO, HA722562), each used at 1:200.
Techniques: Spatial Transcriptomics, Multiplex Assay, Immunofluorescence, Staining, Derivative Assay