Figure 6: sdRNAs are correlated with cytolytic T cell activity across multiple cancer types.

a. Bar plot depicting the number of significant sdRNAs in each cancer type, aggregated by parental snoRNA, in relation to GZMA expression. Red, positive correlation; blue, negative correlation.

b. Heat map of sdRNAs positively correlated with GZMA expression (adjusted p < 0.05, adjusted within each cancer type), a marker of cytolytic T cell activity. For visibility, only sdRNAs that were positively correlated in three or more cancer types are shown. Boxes are colored according to the Spearman correlation with GZMA. Parental snoRNAs without annotated names are instead labeled by their host gene in parentheses. SnoRNA classifications are annotated on top based on a color legend on the right panel.

c. Scatter plot depicting the correlation between GZMA and SCARNA5 sdRNA expression in skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM, n = 89). Spearman correlation R = 0.401, p = 1.11 * 10^-4.

d. Scatter plot depicting the correlation between GZMA and SCARNA5 sdRNA expression in testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT, n = 135). R = 0.403, p = 1.56 * 10^-6.

e. Heat map of sdRNAs negatively correlated with GZMA expression (adjusted p < 0.05, adjusted within each cancer type). For visibility, only sdRNAs that were positively correlated in three or more cancer types are shown. Boxes are colored according to the Spearman correlation with GZMA. Parental snoRNAs without annotated names are instead labeled by their host gene in parentheses. SnoRNA classifications are annotated on top based on a color legend on the right panel.

f. Scatter plot depicting the correlation between GZMA and SCARNA4 sdRNA expression in bladder carcinomas (BLCA, n = 362). R = −0.267, p = 2.60 * 10^-7.

g. Scatter plot depicting the correlation between GZMA and SCARNA4 sdRNA expression in cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CESC, n = 265). R = −0.315, p = 1.98 * 10^-7.

c, d, f, g - Data are shown as tpm, normalized separately for mRNA-seq and smRNA-seq datasets.