Identification of hypoxic macrophages in glioblastoma with therapeutic potential for vasculature normalization
Wenying Wang, Tianran Li, Yue Cheng, Fei Li, Shuhong Qi, Min Mao, Jingjing Wu, Qing Liu, Xiaoning Zhang, Xuegang Li, Lu Zhang, Haoyue Qi, Yang Lan, Kaidi Yang, Zhicheng He, Shuaishuai Ding, Zhongyi Qin, Ying Yang, Xi Yang, Chunhua Luo, Ying Guo, Chao Wang, Xindong Liu, L. Zhou, Yuqi Liu, Weikai Kong, Jingya Miao, Shuang-Hui Ye, Min Luo, Lele An, Lujing Wang, Linrong Che, Qin Niu, Qinghua Ma, Xia Zhang, Zhihong Zhang, Rong Hu, Hua Feng, Yi‐Fang Ping, Xiu‐Wu Bian, Yu Shi
Abstract
Monocyte-derived tumor-associated macrophages (Mo-TAMs) intensively infiltrate diffuse gliomas with remarkable heterogeneity. Using single-cell transcriptomics, we chart a spatially resolved transcriptional landscape of Mo-TAMs across 51 patients with isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wild-type glioblastomas or IDH-mutant gliomas. We characterize a Mo-TAM subset that is localized to the peri-necrotic niche and skewed by hypoxic niche cues to acquire a hypoxia response signature. Hypoxia-TAM destabilizes endothelial adherens junctions by activating adrenomedullin paracrine signaling, thereby stimulating a hyperpermeable neovasculature that hampers drug delivery in glioblastoma xenografts. Accordingly, genetic ablation or pharmacological blockade of adrenomedullin produced by Hypoxia-TAM restores vascular integrity, improves intratumoral concentration of the anti-tumor agent dabrafenib, and achieves combinatorial therapeutic benefits. Increased proportion of Hypoxia-TAM or adrenomedullin expression is predictive of tumor vessel hyperpermeability and a worse prognosis of glioblastoma. Our findings highlight Mo-TAM diversity and spatial niche-steered Mo-TAM reprogramming in diffuse gliomas and indicate potential therapeutics targeting Hypoxia-TAM to normalize tumor vasculature.