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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/220472
Spatial tumor immune heterogeneity facilitates subtype co-existence and therapy response in pancreatic cancer
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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) displays a high degree of spatial subtype heterogeneity and co-existence, linked to a diverse microenvironment and worse clinical outcome. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, by combining preclinical models, multi-center clinical, transcriptomic, proteomic, and patient bioimaging data, we identify an interplay between neoplastic intrinsic AP1 transcription factor dichotomy and extrinsic macrophages driving subtype co-existence and an immunosuppressive microenvironment. ATAC-, ChIP-, and RNA-seq analyses reveal that JUNB/AP1- and HDAC-mediated epigenetic programs repress pro-inflammatory signatures in tumor cells, antagonizing cJUN/AP1 signaling, favoring a therapy-responsive classical neoplastic state. This dichotomous regulation is amplified via regional TNF-α+ macrophages, which associates with a reactive phenotype and reduced CD8+ T cell infiltration in patients. Consequently, combined preclinical anti-TNF-α immunotherapy and chemotherapy reduces macrophages and promotes CD3+/CD8+ T cell infiltration in basal-like PDAC, improving survival. Hence, tumor cell-intrinsic epigenetic programs, together with extrinsic microenvironmental cues, facilitate intratumoral subtype heterogeneity and disease progression.
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KLEIN, Lukas, et al. Spatial tumor immune heterogeneity facilitates subtype co-existence and therapy response in pancreatic cancer. Nature Communications. 2025. Vol. 16, num. 1. ISSN 2041-1723. [consulted: 13 of August of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/220472