Single-cell transcriptomics unveils pyroptosis-related immune microenvironment dynamics and prognostic modeling in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

作者：Hui Zou, Qinglin Ren, Jun Wu, Jiansheng He · 发表于：Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1186/s13019-026-04474-2 · 研究领域：Ferroptosis and cancer prognosis、Inflammasome and immune disorders、Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics

BACKGROUND: Esophageal cancer remains a leading cause of global cancer mortality with limited therapeutic efficacy. This study aims to characterize pyroptosis-related immune mechanisms in esophageal cancer and develop a clinical prediction model to improve prognostic evaluation. METHODS: Single-cell RNA sequencing data from seven esophageal cancer tissues and one normal control were integrated to construct a cellular atlas. Immune subpopulations were isolated, and pyroptosis-associated differentially expressed genes were identified. We intersected these genes with pyroptosis-related genes(PRG), identifying 13 key pyroptosis genes. Computational analyses included pyroptosis scoring, subcluster re-analysis, pathway enrichment, and intercellular communication mapping. Pseudotime trajectory analysis was applied to high-pyroptosis immune subsets. A clinical prognostic model incorporating PRG was validated using bulk sequencing data, followed by immune infiltration quantification and chemotherapy response assessment. RESULTS: By integrating single-cell and bulk transcriptomic datasets, we found that pyroptosis-related genes were enriched in immune-inflammatory pathways in ESCC immune cells. B cells showed extensive interactions within the ESCC immune microenvironment. The identified pyroptosis-related genes appeared to be involved in immune-cell state transitions and intercellular communication. A two-gene pyroptosis-related prognostic model based on GSDMB and CYCS showed moderate ...