Immune escape between endoplasmic reticulum stress-related cancer cells and exhausted CD8+T cells leads to neoadjuvant chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer

Our study aims to explore the effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) on tumour cells and immune cells in the immune microenvironment of patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). Single-cell RNA sequencing data of paired ovarian cancer tissues were analysed before and after NACT in 11 patients with HGSOC. The effect of NACT on two major cell components of the tumour microenvironment, epithelial cells and CD8+T cells, was investigated. The mechanisms of epithelial cell evasion by NACT and immune killing were explored from the perspectives of gene expression, functional characteristics, transcriptional regulation, and cell communication. Key targets for reversing NACT resistance were identified and possible therapeutic strategies proposed. While NACT improved the de novo differentiation of anti-tumour CD8+T cells, enhancing their anti-tumour function, it increased the proportion of cancer cells with high HSP90B1 expression. Thus, the potential reasons for NACT resistance were identified as: 1) high levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) characteristics, 2) high expression of the MDK-NCL ligand-receptor pair between them and exhausted CD8+T cells before NACT, and 3) high expression of the NECTIN2-TIGIT immune ligand-receptor pair between them and exhausted CD8+T cells after NACT. Thus, our study reveals the mechanisms underlying NACT resistance in patients with HGSOC from the perspective of the independent and interactive roles of cancer cells and CD8+T cells. We propose therapeutic strategies targeting the ERS marker HSP90B1 and the immune escape marker MDK before or during NACT, while targeting NECTIN2 blockade after NACT. This approach may offer new insights into combination treatments for patients with HGSOC displaying NACT resistance. [Display omitted] •NACT improved the cytotoxic function of anti-tumor CD8+T cells.•HSP90B1+ epithelial cells evaded immune killing.•HSP09B1+ epithelial cells escaped immune of exhausted CD8+T cells via MDK-NCL before NACT.•HSP09B1+ epithelial cells escaped immune of exhausted CD8+T cells via additional NECTIN2-TIGIT after NACT.