Fig. 4

ApCAFs primarily originate from macrophages. A Pseudotime analysis of myeloid cells and CAFs based on the expression levels of CD68 and FAP in single-cell sequencing data from HNSCC patients and mice. B Gross images and quantitative results showing tumor volume changes in mice after macrophage depletion in vivo. C and E Flow cytometry dot plots and quantitative results showing changes in the number of CD68⁺ cells after macrophage depletion. D and F Flow cytometry dot plots and quantitative results showing changes in the number of CD74⁺PDGFRB⁺ cells after macrophage depletion. G Expression changes of macrophage and apCAF-related markers after culturing THP1 cells in the culture media of oral squamous carcinoma epithelial cells and normal oral epithelial cells for 3 h, 6 h, and 12 h. Statistics are shown in mean ± SD (F) accessed by the unpaired t test. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001; ns, nonsignificant, respectively