Single-cell RNA-sequencing of human spleens reveals an IDO-1 tolerogenic dendritic cell subset in pancreatic cancer patients that is absent in normal individuals.

Local and systemic immunosuppression are prominent features of pancreatic cancer, rendering anti-tumor effector cells inactive and immunotherapeutic approaches ineffective. The spleen, an understudied point of antigen-presentation and T cell priming in humans, holds particular importance in pancreatic cancer due to its proximity to the developing tumor. As main effectors of antigen presentation, dendritic cells display antigens to lymphocytes, thereby bridging the innate and adaptive immune response.

Local and systemic immunosuppression in pancreatic cancer: Targeting the stalwarts in tumor's arsenal.

Late detection, compromised immune system, and chemotherapy resistance underlie the poor patient prognosis for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients, making it the 3 leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Cooperation between the tumor cells and the immune system leads to the immune escape and eventual establishment of the tumor. For more than 20 years, sincere efforts have been made to intercept the tumor-immune crosstalk and identify the probable therapeutic targets for breaking self-tolerance toward tumor antigens.