Single Cell RNA Sequencing Highlights the Role of Inflammatory Cancer-associated Fibroblasts in Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma

Although substantial progress has been made in cancer biology and treatment, clinical outcomes of bladder carcinoma patients are still not satisfactory. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a potential target. Here we report that via single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) on 8 BC tumor samples and 3 para-tumor samples, we identified 19 different cell types in the BC microenvironment, indicating high intra-tumoral heterogeneity of bladder carcinoma. Through correlation analysis using public datasets containing over 3000 BC samples, we identify a role for inflammatory cancer-associated fibroblasts (iCAFs) in tumor progression, which is significantly related to poor prognosis. Additionally, we characterize a regulatory network depending on iCAFs. These results could help elucidate the protumor mechanisms of iCAFs.