Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41593214›Full record

ArticleNPJ precision oncology2026

Multimodal single-cell profiling reveals crosstalk between macrophages and stromal cells in poor prognostic cholangiocarcinoma patients.

Lara Heij, Sikander Hayat, Konrad Reichel, Sidrah Maryam, Colm J O'Rourke, Xiuxiang Tan, Marlous van den Braber, Jan Verhoeff, Maurice Halder, Fabian Peisker and 23 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in NPJ precision oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing 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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
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

33 authors.

Lara Heij *Department of Surgery and Transplantation, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany. lararosaline.heij@uk-essen.de.
Sikander Hayat *Department of Renal and Hypertensive Disorders, Rheumatological and Immunological Diseases (Medical Clinic II), Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Konrad Reichel *Department of Surgery and Transplantation, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
Sidrah MaryamDepartment of Renal and Hypertensive Disorders, Rheumatological and Immunological Diseases (Medical Clinic II), Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Colm J O'RourkeDepartment of Health and Medical Sciences, Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Xiuxiang TanDepartment of Surgery and Transplantation, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany.
Marlous van den BraberAmsterdam UMC - Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology & Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Jan VerhoeffAmsterdam UMC - Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology & Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Maurice HalderDepartment of Renal and Hypertensive Disorders, Rheumatological and Immunological Diseases (Medical Clinic II), Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Fabian PeiskerDepartment of Renal and Hypertensive Disorders, Rheumatological and Immunological Diseases (Medical Clinic II), Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Georg WiltbergerDepartment of Surgery and Transplantation, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany.
Jan BednarschDepartment of Surgery and Transplantation, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
Daniel HeiseDepartment of Surgery and Transplantation, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
Julia Campello DeierlDepartment of Surgery and Transplantation, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany.
Sven A LangDepartment of Surgery and Transplantation, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
Florian UlmerDepartment of Surgery and Transplantation, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
Tom LueddeDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Edgar DahlInstitute of Pathology, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany.
Danny JonigkInstitute of Pathology, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany.
Jochen NoltingDepartment of Surgery and Transplantation, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
Shivan SivakumarUniversity of Birmingham and University hospitals of Birmingham NHS Trust, Birmingham, UK.
Jens SivekeBridge Institute of Experimental Tumor Therapy, West German Cancer Center, University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
Florian VondranDepartment of Surgery and Transplantation, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany.
Flavio G RochaDivision of Surgical Oncology, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
Hideo A BabaDepartment of Pathology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
Sylvia HartmannDepartment of Pathology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
Jesper B AndersenDepartment of Health and Medical Sciences, Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Zaynab HoblossDepartment of Toxicology, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany.
Ahmed GhallabDepartment of Toxicology, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany.
Jan G HengstlerDepartment of Toxicology, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany.
Juan J Garcia VallejoAmsterdam UMC - Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology & Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Rafael KramannDepartment of Renal and Hypertensive Disorders, Rheumatological and Immunological Diseases (Medical Clinic II), Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Ulf NeumannDepartment of Surgery and Transplantation, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a deadly cancer, characterized by abundant stroma. The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays an important role in its aggressive behavior and poor response to therapeutics; however, the underlying pathways are unknown. To fill this gap, we used multiplexed immunohistochemistry, high-dimensional cytometry, and single cell transcriptomics. Our findings confirm an abundance of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and a lack of effector memory T cells within the tumor. Tumor-infiltrating T cells show signs of exhaustion. Using our transcriptomic data, we revealed cellular crosstalk in poor prognosis patients. This crosstalk is driven by stromal cells and macrophages. Among the responsible receptor-ligand pairs are GAS6-AXL, VCAN-TLR2, and EGFR-TGF-β. The multiple mechanisms leading to the exclusion of relevant immune cells needed for an anti-cancer response and mechanisms leading to active immune suppression are part of complex cell-cell crosstalk. This study provides a deeper insight into the immune exhausted phenotype in CCA.

Identifiers

PMID41593214
PMCPMC12976350

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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.