Kelly Boelaars, Ernesto Rodriguez, Zowi R Huinen, Chang Liu, Di Wang, Babet O Springer, Katarzyna Olesek, Laura Goossens-Kruijssen, Thomas van Ee, Dimitri Lindijer, Willemijn Tak, Aram de Haas, Laetitia Wehry, Joline P Nugteren-Boogaard, Aleksandra Mikula, Charlotte M de Winde, Reina E Mebius, David A Tuveson, Elisa Giovannetti, Maarten F Bijlsma, Manfred Wuhrer, Sandra J van Vliet, Yvette van Kooyk
Despite recent advances in cancer immunotherapy, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains unresponsive due to an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, which is characterized by the abundance of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Once identified, CAF-mediated immune inhibitory mechanisms could be exploited for cancer immunotherapy. Siglec receptors are increasingly recognized as immune checkpoints, and their ligands, sialic acids, are known to be overexpressed by cancer cells. Here, we unveil a previously unrecognized role of sialic acid-containing glycans on PDAC CAFs as crucial modulators of myeloid cells...
April 9, 2024: Communications Biology