Fig. 4

Transcriptional analysis of NK cells in baseline tumors of pCR and IPR patients. A Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in subgroup analysis. Significant P values were labeled in red, and the y-axis represents the log2 fold change. B GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis for baseline ESCC tumor in pCR patients compared to IPR patients. The length and color of the bars represent enrichment significance and classifications. The number inside the spheres represents the number of related mRNAs enriched in the specific pathway. C, D Dot plots show the top 30 ligand-receptor interactions from NK cells obtained from baseline ESCC tumors of IPR (C) and pCR patients (D). The size of the circle represents the P values, and the color of the circle indicates the average expression level of interacting pairs. The cell clusters labeled in blue and red on the x-axis indicate that NK cells act as ligands and receptors in the interaction pairs, respectively. E, F Dot plots show the immune checkpoint ligand-receptor interactions from NK cells obtained from baseline ESCC tumors of IPR (E) and pCR patients (F)