RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 The functional and phenotypic diversity of single T-cell infiltrates in human colorectal cancer as correlated with clinical outcome JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 2020.09.27.313445 DO 10.1101/2020.09.27.313445 A1 Kazuya Masuda A1 Adam Kornberg A1 Sijie Lin A1 Patricia Ho A1 Kerim Secener A1 Nathan Suek A1 Alyssa M. Bacarella A1 Matthew Ingham A1 Vilma Rosario A1 Ahmed M. Al-Masrou A1 Steven A. Lee-Kong A1 P. Ravi Kiran A1 Kelley S. Yan A1 Marlon Stoeckius A1 Peter Smibert A1 Paul E. Oberstein A1 Peter A. Sims A1 Arnold Han YR 2020 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/29/2020.09.27.313445.abstract AB Although degree of T-cell infiltration in CRC was shown to correlate with a positive prognosis, the contribution of phenotypically and functionally distinct T cell subtypes within tumors remains unclear. We analyzed 37,931 single T cells with respect to transcriptome, TCR sequence and 23 cell surface proteins, from tumors and adjacent normal colon of 16 patients. Our comprehensive analysis revealed two phenotypically distinct cytotoxic T cell populations within tumors, including positively prognostic effector memory cells and non-prognostic resident memory cells. These cytotoxic T cell infiltrates transitioned from effector memory to resident memory in a stage-dependent manner. We further defined several Treg subpopulations within tumors. While Tregs overall were associated with positive clinical outcomes, CD38+ peripherally-derived Tregs, phenotypically related to Th17 cells, correlated with poor outcomes independent of cancer stage. Thus, our data highlight the diversity of T cells in CRC and demonstrate the prognostic significance of distinct T cell subtypes, which could inform therapeutic strategies.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.