Single-cell analyses reveal the metabolic heterogeneity and plasticity of the tumor microenvironment during head and neck squamous cell carcinoma progression

Metabolic reprogramming is a hallmark of cancer. In addition to metabolic alterations in the tumor cells, multiple other metabolically active cell types in the tumor microenvironment (TME) contribute to the emergence of a tumor-specific metabolic milieu. Here, we defined the metabolic landscape of the TME during the progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) by performing single-cell RNA sequencing on 26 human patient specimens, including normal tissue, precancerous lesions, early stage cancer, advanced-stage cancer, lymph node metastases, and recurrent tumors. The analysis revealed substantial heterogeneity at the transcriptional, developmental, metabolic, and functional levels in different cell types. SPP1+ macrophages were identified as a protumor and prometastatic macrophage subtype with high fructose and mannose metabolism, which was further substantiated by integrative analysis and validation experiments. An inhibitor of fructose metabolism reduced the proportion of SPP1+ macrophages, reshaped the immunosuppressive TME, and suppressed tumor growth. In conclusion, this work delineated the metabolic landscape of HNSCC at a single-cell resolution and identified fructose metabolism as a key metabolic feature of a protumor macrophage subpopulation. Significance: Fructose and mannose metabolism is a metabolic feature of a protumor and prometastasis macrophage subtype and can be targeted to reprogram macrophages and the microenvironment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.