The tumour microenvironment of pilocytic astrocytoma evolves over time via enrichment for microglia

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Pilocytic astrocytoma (PA) is the commonest low-grade tumour affecting children and is frequently experienced as a chronic disease associated with extended treatment, periods of regrowth, and long-term disability. This contrasts with the view of PA as a benign tumour with positive clinical outcomes and raises the fundamental question of biologically driven change over time within these tumours, which will impact diagnosis, stratification, and management. To investigate the molecular, cellular, and pathological stability of PA we performed RNA sequencing, methylation array profiling, immunohistochemistry, and targeted panel DNA sequencing on a cohort of 15 PA patients with matched primary/longitudinal samples at a mean sampling interval of 2.7 years. Through pairwise analysis of primary versus longitudinal tumour samples we identified changes to immune-related pathways within the expression and methylation profiles of longitudinal PA. Further interrogation of these changes revealed an enrichment over time for microglial cell populations, which was validated by immunohistochemistry against common monocyte/microglial markers. Moreover, immunohistochemical characterisation revealed concurrent increases in the expression of M2-like and anti-inflammatory markers. Microglial enrichments were consistent across the cohort and were not adequately explained by a range of potential confounders, including receipt of adjuvant therapy. Taken together, these data challenge the idea of pilocytic astrocytoma as a static entity and indicate that they consistently accumulate microglia over time, potentially co-opting the immune microenvironment towards an anti-inflammatory phenotype that may affect the natural course and treatment response of the tumours.

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