Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41181127›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in immunology2025

Subtype-specific NK cell-TAM interactions drive a novel prognostic signature in HNSCC.

Zhenyan Zhao, Xuejiao Han, Yating Hu, Yun Li, Yaodong He, Yan Wang, Yanbing Yao, Huan Li, Jianhua Wei

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in immunology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Zhenyan Zhao *State Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Xuejiao Han *State Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Yating Hu *State Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Yun LiState Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Yaodong HeState Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Yan WangState Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Yanbing YaoState Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Huan LiState Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Jianhua WeiState Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The immune microenvironment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is highly complex, and the mechanisms underlying interactions between natural killer (NK) cells and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) remain unclear. This study investigates the cellular heterogeneity, interaction patterns, and prognostic significance of NK-TAM crosstalk through multi-omics analyses. Methods: A total of 58 HNSCC tissue samples were analyzed. NK and TAM subsets were identified using immunohistochemistry (CD16, CD64, CD163), single-cell RNA sequencing (GSE139324), and public databases (TCGA-HNSC, GSE65858). CellChat was used to infer ligand-receptor interactions, while spatial proximity was assessed via the CSOmap algorithm and validated by immunofluorescence. A prognostic model was constructed using LASSO Cox regression and validated in an immunotherapy cohort (PRJEB23709, phs000452.v2.p1). Results: High CD16/CD64 expression correlated with favorable prognosis, while CD163 indicated poor outcomes ( Conclusion: This study uncovers subtype-specific NK-TAM interactions in HNSCC and introduces CINT as a robust prognostic and immunotherapy response model, offering a new strategy for immune microenvironment-targeted therapy.

Indexed as

Cell CommunicationHead and Neck NeoplasmsKiller Cells, NaturalSquamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and NeckTumor-Associated MacrophagesAgedBiomarkers, TumorFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrognosisTumor MicroenvironmentBiomarkers, Tumorcell interactionhead and neck squamous cell carcinomaNK cellsprognostic modeltumor-associated macrophagestumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID41181127
PMCPMC12575298

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.