Spatially resolved transcriptional programs link fallopian tube precursor lesions to immune activation and stromal reorganization

Recouvreux, M. S., Trang, K., Smick, A. H., Kusumoto, S., Pintard, D., Raz, Y., Taylor Harding, B., Kim, J. H., Mika, R., Richardson, M. T., et al.

10.64898/2026.08.27.747392 · was preprinted

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Abstract

Despite its name, high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSC) originates in the fallopian tube, not the ovary, arising from a morphologically recognizable precursor lesion, serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma (STIC). Yet the early cellular and microenvironmental changes driving this transformation remain poorly understood, limiting progress in early detection, interception, and prevention. Here, we generated a Visium HD spatial transcriptomic atlas of fallopian tube carcinogenesis spanning histologically unremarkable fallopian tube epithelium (FTE), STIC, and invasive HGSC. This approach enabled unbiased, tissue-wide, whole-transcriptome mapping at single-cell-level resolution within preserved histologic architecture, providing spatial granularity beyond prior region-of-interest-based platforms. STIC lesions displayed a coordinated epithelial transformation program marked by proliferation, replication stress, DNA repair activation, chromatin remodeling, and induction of tumor-associated antigens, including PRAME and CLDN6, which are emerging targets for vaccine and antigen-directed therapeutic strategies. In contrast, histologically unremarkable FTE contained spatially restricted epithelial defense programs marked by SCGB1A1 and MUC6, suggesting localized protective states that may influence susceptibility to malignant transformation. Using distance- and density-aware spatial analyses, we found that precursor lesions were embedded within immune-enriched, stromal-depleted microenvironments characterized by interferon-dominant immune activation, attenuation of TNF/NF-{kappa}B signaling, macrophage and lymphoid remodeling, and extracellular matrix-associated fibroblast interactions. Computational pathology analysis of collagen architecture confirmed reduced collagen fiber density in STIC-adjacent stroma, linking transcriptomic evidence of stromal remodeling to structural extracellular matrix changes. Together, these data define early epithelial, immune, and stromal programs associated with STIC and identify tumor-associated antigens, epithelial defense states, and immune-stromal niches as candidate targets for HGSC prevention and early interception.

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biorxiv v1 2026-08-28 source ↗

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