Single-cell transcriptomic landscapes of a rare human laryngeal chondrosarcoma

PROPOSE: Laryngeal chondrosarcoma is a rare non-epithelial malignant tumor. At present, the cell type composition and molecular mechanism of laryngeal chondrosarcoma have not been systematically studied. METHODS: This study focused on the histopathological and imaging features of a rare primary laryngeal chondrosarcoma in a 74-year-old male. The tumor and its paracancerous cartilage tissue were single-cell sequenced and analyzed and a total of 5455 single cells were obtained. Immunohistochemical levels were also verified. RESULTS: In total five cell types were identified, including chondrocytes, myeloid cells, fibroblasts, lymphocytes, and endothelial cells. We carried out further subgroup analysis, focusing on the classification and differentiation of chondrocytes, functional enrichment analysis, and cellular communication analysis of all cell types, and explored the tumor microenvironment (TME) of laryngeal chondrosarcoma. Immunohistochemistry revealed the SLAMF9 gene was specifically expressed in non-immune cells of chondrosarcoma, but was barely expressed in the normal cartilage tissues adjacent to chondrosarcomas. CONCLUSION: This single-cell sequencing approach provides clues for deciphering the potential mechanisms of tumor heterogeneity and TME composition in laryngeal chondrosarcoma, and represents an important step towards the treatment of laryngeal chondrosarcoma. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00432-021-03883-1.