Lactate metabolism-driven tumor heterogeneity and molecular signatures in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Figure 3 Lactate metabolism heterogeneity intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma malignant cells. A: Distribution of lactate metabolism (LM) activity scores in malignant epithelial cells. Cells were stratified into low-LM (LLM) (< 2.38), intermediate-LM (ILM), and high-LM (HLM) (> 2.83) activity groups; B: Spatial distribution of LLM, ILM, and HLM subgroups; C: Density maps illustrating distinct spatial patterns of LM activity; D: Differentiation potential across malignant cells; E: CytoTRACE scores among subgroups; F: The co-expression relationship of LM scoring and CytoTRACE score; G: Correlation plot of LM activity and CytoTRACE scores (r = 0.60, Pearson), showing a strong positive association; H: The development trajectory of malignant epithelial cell subpopulation. ^cP < 0.001. LM: Lactate metabolism; LLM: Low-lactate metabolism; ILM: Intermediate-lactate metabolism; HLM: High-lactate metabolism; UMAP: Uniform manifold approximation and projection; CI: Confidence interval.