Single-cell analysis uncovers high-proliferative tumour cell subtypes and their interactions in the microenvironment of gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) remains a prominent malignancy that poses a significant threat to human well-being worldwide. Despite advancements in chemotherapy and immunotherapy, which have effectively augmented patient survival rates, the mortality rate associated with GC remains distressingly high. This can be attributed to the elevated proliferation and invasive nature exhibited by GC. Our current understanding of the drivers behind GC cell proliferation remains limited. Hence, in order to reveal the molecular biological mechanism behind the swift advancement of GC, we employed single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) to characterize the tumour microenvironment in this study. The scRNA-seq data of 27 patients were acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differential gene analysis, Gene Ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis were employed to investigate 38 samples. The copy number variation level exhibited by GC cells was determined using InferCNV. The CytoTRACE, Monocle and Slingshot analysis were used to discern the cellular stemness and developmental trajectory of GC cells. The CellChat package was utilized for the analysis of intercellular communication crosstalk. Moreover, the findings of the data analysis were validated through cellular functional tests conducted on the AGS cell line and SGC-7901 cell line. Finally, this study constructed a risk scoring model to evaluate the differences of different risk scores in clinical characteristics, immune infiltration, immune checkpoints, functional enrichment, tumour mutation burden and drug sensitivity. Within the microenvironment of GC, we identified the presence of 8 cell subsets, encompassing NK_T cells, B_Plasma cells, epithelial cells, myeloid cells, endothelial cells, mast cells, fibroblasts, pericytes. By delving deeper into the characterization of GC cells, we identified 6 specific tumour cell subtypes: C0 PSCA+ tumour cells, C1 CLDN7+ tumour cells, C2 UBE2C+ tumour cells, C3 MUC6+ tumour cells, C4 CHGA+ tumour cells and C5 MUC2+ tumour cells. Notably, the C2 UBE2C+ tumour cells demonstrated a close association with cell mitosis and the cell cycle, exhibiting robust proliferative capabilities. Our findings were fortified through enrichment analysis, pseudotime analysis and cell communication analysis. Meanwhile, knockdown of the transcription factor CREB3, which is highly active in UBE2C+ tumour cells, significantly impedes the proliferation, migration and invasion of GC cells. And the prognostic score model constructed with CREB3-related genes showcased commendable clinical predictive capacity, thus providing valuable guidance for patients' prognosis and clinical treatment decisions. We have identified a highly proliferative cellular subgroup C2 UBE2C+ tumour cells in GC for the first time. The employment of a risk score model, which is based on genes associated with UBE2C expression, exhibits remarkable proficiency in predicting the prognosis of GC patients. In our investigation, we observed that the knockdown of the transcription factor CREB3 led to a marked reduction in cellular proliferation, migration and invasion in GC cell line models. Implementing a stratified treatment approach guided by this model represents a judicious and promising methodology.