Hypoxia and Associated Acidosis Generate Cell-Type Specific Myeloid Responses in Glioblastoma

Abstract

Hypoxia is a defining feature of glioblastoma (GBM), yet how it cooperates with hypoxia-associated acidosis to shape microglia and infiltrating monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) remains poorly understood. We integrated cyclic immunohistochemistry, single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, in vitro cell cultures, and DNA methylation profiling to outline hypoxia-driven responses in up to 136 GBMs. These hypoxic niches were selectively enriched for MDMs that activated carbonic anhydrase (CA) mediated pH buffering and other metabolic adaptation programs, enabling survival in acidic hypoxia, increasingly interacted with cancer cells, and show polarization toward immunosuppressive myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC)-like states. In contrast, microglia were depleted in hypoxic areas, lacked compensatory CA isoenzymes, and developed TNF-linked stress responses and loss of homeostatic identity in acidic hypoxia. These findings identify metabolic adaptation to hypoxia-associated microenvironmental stress as a key determinant of GBM immune architecture, driving myeloid cell fates, spatial TME reorganization and the emergence of immunosuppressive tumor ecosystems.