{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T12:05:51Z","timestamp":1779192351457,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,28]],"date-time":"2026-04-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777334400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Oncol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) frequently occurs in patients with advanced cancer and is predominantly infiltrated by lymphocytes, particularly CD4\n                      <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                      T cells. However, the characteristics of adaptive immune cells, including T-cell receptor (TCR) and B-cell receptor (BCR) repertoires, in MPE remain largely unclear.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In this study, we comprehensively characterized adaptive immune alterations in human lung adenocarcinoma-associated MPE and peripheral blood samples using single-cell RNA sequencing and single-cell V(D)J sequencing.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      No significant difference in complementary determining region 3 length distribution was observed among adaptive immune cell subsets between MPE and blood samples. Within MPE microenvironment, regulatory T cells and regulatory B cells preferentially harbored specific V(D)J gene segments, while Th1\/17 cells exhibited marked clonal expansion associated with metabolic adaptation, enhanced effector functions, and a propensity to recognize MPE-specific antigens. In addition, expanded cytotoxic CD8\n                      <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                      T cells displayed functional heterogeneity characterized by strong cytotoxic potential alongside an exhaustion signature. Notably, our findings underscore the functional importance of TCR complementary determining region 3 in determining MPE-specific antigen recognition. However, no significant clonotypic or functional changes were detected in the BCR repertoire.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study provides a TCR\/BCR-based single-cell atlas of adaptive immune profiles in MPE, offering new insights into the immunopathogenesis of this malignancy-associated condition.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fonc.2026.1825360","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,28]],"date-time":"2026-04-28T04:39:55Z","timestamp":1777351195000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Immunorepertoire-based characterization of adaptive immunity in human malignant pleural effusion"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Chuang-Xin","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Beijing Institute of Respiratory Medicine and Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University","place":["Beijing, China"]},{"name":"Clinical Center for Pleural Diseases, Capital Medical University","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xin-Ao","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Beijing Institute of Respiratory Medicine and Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University","place":["Beijing, China"]},{"name":"Clinical Center for Pleural Diseases, Capital Medical University","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yu-Peng","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Beijing Institute of Respiratory Medicine and Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University","place":["Beijing, China"]},{"name":"Clinical Center for Pleural Diseases, Capital Medical University","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kan","family":"Zhai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Beijing Institute of Respiratory Medicine and Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University","place":["Beijing, China"]},{"name":"Clinical Center for Pleural Diseases, Capital Medical University","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1056\/nejmra1403503","article-title":"Pleural 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