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The metastatic spectrum in functional and non-functional NENs: mechanistic insights from multi-omics
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2026 Aug 27;17:1782791. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2026.1782791. eCollection 2026.
ABSTRACT
Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are biologically heterogeneous tumors in which differentiation/grade and hormonal functionality are intersecting but non-equivalent axes. This review focuses on functional and non-functional well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), principally gastroenteropancreatic and pancreatic NETs, and critically evaluates how site, lineage, stage, tumor burden, genomic and epigenetic alterations, immune-stromal remodeling, metabolic adaptation, microbiome-associated signals, and treatment pressure converge on metastasis and recurrence. Apparent outcome differences by functionality are inconsistent after clinicopathological adjustment: non-functional presentation is often enriched for delayed diagnosis and adverse features, whereas functional subtypes range from typically indolent insulinomas to clinically aggressive hormone-producing tumors. We reconcile these observations through a layered model in which lineage-defining alterations and chromatin/telomere programs establish cellular state; signaling and metabolic plasticity enable stress adaptation; and hypoxia, angiogenesis, immune cells, fibroblasts, extracellular matrix, and therapy create selective niches for dissemination and relapse. We also define computational strategies for heterogeneous multi-omics integration and a staged biomarker-validation pathway. Evidence remains dominated by pancreatic NETs, and causal support is weakest for microbiome-functionality relationships and several proposed cross-omic links. A spectrum-based framework is therefore most useful when it generates testable, site- and grade-specific hypotheses rather than treating functionality as an isolated prognostic variable.
PMID:42724134 | PMC:PMC13559159 | DOI:10.3389/fendo.2026.1782791
Ancient proteins identify various Denisovan remains from Southwest China
Nature, Published online: 09 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10976-9
Identification and proteomic analysis of bone fragments and teeth from an excavation in Southwest China provide insight into the evolution and phenotype of Denisovans and fill a geographical gap in their documented distribution.Genomics and social practices at Mogou and other Gansu sites during prehistoric trans-Eurasian exchange
Author Correction: Low-protein diet enhances antitumor immunity in pancreatic cancer through microbiota-derived UDP-galactose
Nature Cancer, Published online: 25 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s43018-026-01241-z
Author Correction: Low-protein diet enhances antitumor immunity in pancreatic cancer through microbiota-derived UDP-galactoseCascade-KDE: Robust Time-Series Restoration under Out-of-Distribution Impulse Corruptions
CR1(+) tumor-associated macrophages orchestrate an immunosuppressive niche in hepatocellular carcinoma: a genetic and multi-omics dissection
J Transl Med. 2026 May 25. doi: 10.1186/s12967-026-08301-z. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a major global health burden and a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Advanced disease is characterized by a profoundly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and limited durable responses to therapy. However, the upstream genetic determinants that drive tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) dysfunction in HCC remain poorly defined. Using an integrative genetic and multi-omics framework, we investigated complement receptor 1 (CR1) as a candidate regulator of this immunosuppressive niche.
METHODS: We combined Mendelian randomization (MR) and metabolite mediation analyses with bulk, single-cell, and spatial transcriptomics to define the role of CR1 in HCC. Public datasets included the TCGA-HCC cohort, a single-cell RNA-sequencing dataset comprising 53,474 high-quality cells from 21 samples, and two spatially profiled HCC sections. Clinical validation was performed in 30 paired HCC and adjacent liver tissues. Functional assays were conducted in THP-1-derived macrophages using CR1 gain- and loss-of-function approaches, phagocytosis assays, and macrophage-CD8+ T-cell co-culture experiments.
RESULTS: MR analyses implicated CR1 in HCC susceptibility at both the protein and transcript levels. pQTL analysis linked genetically predicted circulating CR1 levels to HCC risk (IVW OR = 1.403, p = 0.017), and mediation analysis identified specific metabolites as candidate intermediates. Integrative multi-omics analyses showed that CR1 was preferentially enriched in TAMs, spatially co-localized with the M2 marker CD206, and associated with reduced CD8+ T-cell infiltration, enhanced T-cell exhaustion signatures, advanced clinicopathological features, and poorer survival. In 30 paired clinical samples, CR1-high tumors exhibited increased M2-like macrophage accumulation and reduced CD8+ T-cell infiltration. Functionally, CR1 overexpression drove macrophages toward an M2-like phenotype, enhanced phagocytic activity, increased PD-L1 expression, and suppressed CD8+ T-cell proliferation as well as IFN-gamma and granzyme B production, whereas CR1 knockdown produced the opposite phenotype.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides the first integrated genetic, spatial, and functional evidence that CR1+ TAMs constitute a clinically relevant immunoregulatory axis in HCC. These findings extend current understanding of complement-associated immunosuppression beyond canonical complement cascade activity and support CR1 as a candidate biomarker and therapeutic target for macrophage reprogramming, with potential translational relevance for combination strategies involving immune checkpoint blockade.
PMID:42185899 | DOI:10.1186/s12967-026-08301-z
CR1(+) tumor-associated macrophages orchestrate an immunosuppressive niche in hepatocellular carcinoma: a genetic and multi-omics dissection
J Transl Med. 2026 May 25. doi: 10.1186/s12967-026-08301-z. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a major global health burden and a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Advanced disease is characterized by a profoundly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and limited durable responses to therapy. However, the upstream genetic determinants that drive tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) dysfunction in HCC remain poorly defined. Using an integrative genetic and multi-omics framework, we investigated complement receptor 1 (CR1) as a candidate regulator of this immunosuppressive niche.
METHODS: We combined Mendelian randomization (MR) and metabolite mediation analyses with bulk, single-cell, and spatial transcriptomics to define the role of CR1 in HCC. Public datasets included the TCGA-HCC cohort, a single-cell RNA-sequencing dataset comprising 53,474 high-quality cells from 21 samples, and two spatially profiled HCC sections. Clinical validation was performed in 30 paired HCC and adjacent liver tissues. Functional assays were conducted in THP-1-derived macrophages using CR1 gain- and loss-of-function approaches, phagocytosis assays, and macrophage-CD8+ T-cell co-culture experiments.
RESULTS: MR analyses implicated CR1 in HCC susceptibility at both the protein and transcript levels. pQTL analysis linked genetically predicted circulating CR1 levels to HCC risk (IVW OR = 1.403, p = 0.017), and mediation analysis identified specific metabolites as candidate intermediates. Integrative multi-omics analyses showed that CR1 was preferentially enriched in TAMs, spatially co-localized with the M2 marker CD206, and associated with reduced CD8+ T-cell infiltration, enhanced T-cell exhaustion signatures, advanced clinicopathological features, and poorer survival. In 30 paired clinical samples, CR1-high tumors exhibited increased M2-like macrophage accumulation and reduced CD8+ T-cell infiltration. Functionally, CR1 overexpression drove macrophages toward an M2-like phenotype, enhanced phagocytic activity, increased PD-L1 expression, and suppressed CD8+ T-cell proliferation as well as IFN-gamma and granzyme B production, whereas CR1 knockdown produced the opposite phenotype.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides the first integrated genetic, spatial, and functional evidence that CR1+ TAMs constitute a clinically relevant immunoregulatory axis in HCC. These findings extend current understanding of complement-associated immunosuppression beyond canonical complement cascade activity and support CR1 as a candidate biomarker and therapeutic target for macrophage reprogramming, with potential translational relevance for combination strategies involving immune checkpoint blockade.
PMID:42185899 | DOI:10.1186/s12967-026-08301-z
CR1(+) tumor-associated macrophages orchestrate an immunosuppressive niche in hepatocellular carcinoma: a genetic and multi-omics dissection
J Transl Med. 2026 May 25. doi: 10.1186/s12967-026-08301-z. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a major global health burden and a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Advanced disease is characterized by a profoundly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and limited durable responses to therapy. However, the upstream genetic determinants that drive tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) dysfunction in HCC remain poorly defined. Using an integrative genetic and multi-omics framework, we investigated complement receptor 1 (CR1) as a candidate regulator of this immunosuppressive niche.
METHODS: We combined Mendelian randomization (MR) and metabolite mediation analyses with bulk, single-cell, and spatial transcriptomics to define the role of CR1 in HCC. Public datasets included the TCGA-HCC cohort, a single-cell RNA-sequencing dataset comprising 53,474 high-quality cells from 21 samples, and two spatially profiled HCC sections. Clinical validation was performed in 30 paired HCC and adjacent liver tissues. Functional assays were conducted in THP-1-derived macrophages using CR1 gain- and loss-of-function approaches, phagocytosis assays, and macrophage-CD8+ T-cell co-culture experiments.
RESULTS: MR analyses implicated CR1 in HCC susceptibility at both the protein and transcript levels. pQTL analysis linked genetically predicted circulating CR1 levels to HCC risk (IVW OR = 1.403, p = 0.017), and mediation analysis identified specific metabolites as candidate intermediates. Integrative multi-omics analyses showed that CR1 was preferentially enriched in TAMs, spatially co-localized with the M2 marker CD206, and associated with reduced CD8+ T-cell infiltration, enhanced T-cell exhaustion signatures, advanced clinicopathological features, and poorer survival. In 30 paired clinical samples, CR1-high tumors exhibited increased M2-like macrophage accumulation and reduced CD8+ T-cell infiltration. Functionally, CR1 overexpression drove macrophages toward an M2-like phenotype, enhanced phagocytic activity, increased PD-L1 expression, and suppressed CD8+ T-cell proliferation as well as IFN-gamma and granzyme B production, whereas CR1 knockdown produced the opposite phenotype.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides the first integrated genetic, spatial, and functional evidence that CR1+ TAMs constitute a clinically relevant immunoregulatory axis in HCC. These findings extend current understanding of complement-associated immunosuppression beyond canonical complement cascade activity and support CR1 as a candidate biomarker and therapeutic target for macrophage reprogramming, with potential translational relevance for combination strategies involving immune checkpoint blockade.
PMID:42185899 | DOI:10.1186/s12967-026-08301-z
Combating Data Laundering in LLM Training
Group Representational Position Encoding
NeuroNarrator: A Generalist EEG-to-Text Foundation Model for Clinical Interpretation via Spectro-Spatial Grounding and Temporal State-Space Reasoning
Correction: Integrative multi-omics and machine learning reveals the spatial niche distribution and role of CYP27A1+TAMs in immunotherapy response in non-small cell lung cancer
Front Immunol. 2026 Mar 16;17:1822612. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1822612. eCollection 2026.
ABSTRACT
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1782545.].
PMID:41918731 | PMC:PMC13033988 | DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2026.1822612
Correction: Integrative multi-omics and machine learning reveals the spatial niche distribution and role of CYP27A1+TAMs in immunotherapy response in non-small cell lung cancer
Front Immunol. 2026 Mar 16;17:1822612. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1822612. eCollection 2026.
ABSTRACT
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1782545.].
PMID:41918731 | PMC:PMC13033988 | DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2026.1822612
AI-guided multi-omics analysis identifies NPC1-modulated susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection under PM(2.5) exposure
Nat Commun. 2026 Mar 30. doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-71196-3. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Exposure to airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been linked to increased risk of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, by leveraging a fine-tuned foundation model of single-cell transcriptomics, we uncover shared transcriptional signatures between PM2.5 exposure and SARS-CoV-2 infection. We further validate this association using population-level epidemiological analyses and perform genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify genetic variants that modulate infection risk under PM2.5 exposure. In addition, we identify NPC1 as a key modulator involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection efficiency under virus-laden PM2.5 exposure through integrative functional genomic analyses and in vitro experiments. Our findings suggest that PM2.5 facilitates viral entry through an NPC1-modulated endo-lysosomal pathway, providing a mechanistic explanation for observed pollution-related susceptibility. By integrating artificial intelligence (AI)-guided transcriptomics, epidemiology, GWAS, functional genomics, and in vitro verification, our study elucidates how environmental and genetic factors jointly influence SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility. This work highlights how AI-assisted multi-omics integration systematically decodes the health impacts of environmental exposures from molecular to population levels and informs air quality policy and infectious disease preparedness.
PMID:41912520 | DOI:10.1038/s41467-026-71196-3
TRACE: A Multi-Agent System for Autonomous Physical Reasoning in Seismological
SFIBA: Spatial-based Full-target Invisible Backdoor Attacks
Ferroptosis of smooth muscle cells in vascular diseases: from basic principles to clinical translation
Cell Death Discovery, Published online: 09 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41420-026-02950-1
Ferroptosis of smooth muscle cells in vascular diseases: from basic principles to clinical translation