Bulk RNASeq Data in Colorectal Cancer

Colon adenocarcinoma (CA) is a prevalent gastrointestinal malignancy, with significantly higher incidence than small intestine (SI) adenocarcinoma. However, it remains lack of comprehensive understanding about whether the distinct immune microenvironment between SI and colon is related to CA. Here, we performed bulk and single-cell analyses on immune cells of multiple matched tissues of CA patients and health donors, identifying the ileum-likeness pattern within immune microenvironment as a key feature of CA patients with favorable prognosis. The ileum-likeness pattern is primarily characterized by the less TGF-β+ long-lived plasma cells and the abundant cytotoxic and unexhausted CD160+ T cells. Tracking T cell clones confirmed that CD160+ T cells are highly cytotoxic and less prone to exhaustion. CD160 overexpression on CD8+ T cells significantly enhances anti-tumor immunity and efficiently inhibits tumor growth upon adoptive transfer to tumor-bearing mice. Our study provides comprehensive immune landscape within intestinal tissues and novel insights into intraepithelial T cells in CA, underscores potential targets for CA treatment.