Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2025-06-03DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-25-0512
Mara H Sherman
{"title":"CAFs Defang NK Cells to Promote Breast Cancer Immunosuppression.","authors":"Mara H Sherman","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.CD-25-0512","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-25-0512","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Though NK cells often infiltrate the breast tumor microenvironment, they are frequently described as dysfunctional in this setting, and mechanisms limiting their antitumor cytotoxic potential are unclear. In this issue, Ben-Shmuel and colleagues show that breast cancer-associated fibroblasts interact with NK cells via established ligand-receptor pairs and in turn suppress NK-cell cytolytic potential against cancer cells by acting as decoys. See related article by Ben-Shmuel et al., p. 1247.</p>","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":"15 6","pages":"1096-1098"},"PeriodicalIF":29.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144207810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2025-06-03DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-24-1421
Anna M Puzio-Kuter, Lizhong Xu, Mary Kate McBrayer, Romyr Dominique, Hongju H Li, Bruce J Fahr, Alyssa M Brown, Amy E Wiebesiek, Brandon M Russo, Chris L Mulligan, Hong Yang, Josh Battaglia, Kimberly A Robell, Dafydd H Thomas, Kuo-Sen Huang, Alexander Solovyov, Benjamin D Greenbaum, Jonathan D Oliner, Thomas W Davis, Melissa L Dumble, Melissa L Johnson, Shunbin Xiong, Peirong Yang, Guillermina Lozano, Marc M Fellous, Binh T Vu, Alison M Schram, Arnold J Levine, Masha V Poyurovsky
{"title":"Restoration of the Tumor Suppressor Function of Y220C-Mutant p53 by Rezatapopt, a Small-Molecule Reactivator.","authors":"Anna M Puzio-Kuter, Lizhong Xu, Mary Kate McBrayer, Romyr Dominique, Hongju H Li, Bruce J Fahr, Alyssa M Brown, Amy E Wiebesiek, Brandon M Russo, Chris L Mulligan, Hong Yang, Josh Battaglia, Kimberly A Robell, Dafydd H Thomas, Kuo-Sen Huang, Alexander Solovyov, Benjamin D Greenbaum, Jonathan D Oliner, Thomas W Davis, Melissa L Dumble, Melissa L Johnson, Shunbin Xiong, Peirong Yang, Guillermina Lozano, Marc M Fellous, Binh T Vu, Alison M Schram, Arnold J Levine, Masha V Poyurovsky","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.CD-24-1421","DOIUrl":"10.1158/2159-8290.CD-24-1421","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Restoration of the tumor suppressor function of tumor-associated p53 mutants, including the Y220C substitution, has posed a significant challenge for therapeutic discovery. In this study, we describe rezatapopt (PC14586), part of a series of compounds designed to reactivate the p53 Y220C mutant. These compounds restore p53 tumor suppressor function by correcting its conformation and enabling it to bind DNA and activate downstream target genes, thus inducing antiproliferative changes in tumor cells. Our findings are supported by biochemical and structural analysis, in vitro and in vivo transcriptomics, and functional data, revealing the recovery of multiple aspects of the wild-type p53 program. These compounds demonstrate potent antitumor activity in preclinical models as single agents and in combination with immunotherapy. Currently, rezatapopt is being evaluated in a registrational phase II clinical trial for patients with advanced solid tumors harboring the TP53 Y220C mutation.</p><p><strong>Significance: </strong>Rezatapopt is a clinical-stage compound that offers a promising treatment option for TP53-mutant cancers. This study details the characterization of rezatapopt and its related compounds, which can reinstate the tumor suppressor activity of the p53 Y220C mutant. These results emphasize the potential for targeting p53 mutations in cancer therapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":" ","pages":"1159-1179"},"PeriodicalIF":29.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12130801/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143405675","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2025-06-03DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-25-0232
Emilia L Lim, James DeGregori
{"title":"The Nature and Nurture of Carcinogenesis.","authors":"Emilia L Lim, James DeGregori","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.CD-25-0232","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-25-0232","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this issue, Li and colleagues characterize the mutational changes that accompany skin carcinogenesis in the two-stage model in mice. They demonstrate that, despite inducing thousands of mutations that can persist for almost a lifetime, mutagen-induced initiation must be followed by non-mutagenic promotion, which presumably alters tissue landscapes to mediate clonal selection for malignant phenotypes. See related article by Li et al., p. 1115.</p>","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":"15 6","pages":"1090-1092"},"PeriodicalIF":29.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144207812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Serve as Decoys to Suppress NK Cell Anticancer Cytotoxicity in Breast Cancer.","authors":"Aviad Ben-Shmuel, Yael Gruper, Coral Halperin, Oshrat Levi-Galibov, Hallel Rosenberg-Fogler, Debra Barki, Giulia Carradori, Yaniv Stein, Gal Yagel, Mariia Naumova, Shimrit Mayer, Maya Dadiani, Dana Morzaev-Sulzbach, Ofra Golani, Reinat Nevo, Ziv Porat, Einav Nili Gal-Yam, Ruth Scherz-Shouval","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.CD-24-0131","DOIUrl":"10.1158/2159-8290.CD-24-0131","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) are abundant components of the breast tumor microenvironment and major contributors to immune-modulation. CAFs regulate the activity of many immune cells including T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells; however, little is known about their interaction with NK cells, which constitute an important arm of antitumor immunity. Using mouse models of breast cancer and ex vivo cocultures, we find that CAFs inhibit NK cell cytotoxicity toward cancer cells. We unravel the mechanism by which suppression occurs, which is through ligand-receptor engagement between NK cells and CAFs, leading to CAF cytolysis and downregulation of activating receptor expression on NK cells, promoting cancer cell escape from NK cell surveillance. In patients with triple-negative breast cancer, we find enrichment of NK cells in CAF-rich regions and upregulation of NK-binding ligands on CAFs, which correlates with poor disease outcomes. These results reveal a CAF-mediated immunosuppressive decoy mechanism with implications for the treatment of carcinomas.</p><p><strong>Significance: </strong>Little is known about the influence of CAFs on NK cells in the context of carcinomas. Here, we mechanistically unravel a pathway of CAF-mediated suppression of NK cells in breast cancer, opening possible avenues for new biomarkers and strategies for immune-based therapies. See related commentary by Sherman, p. 1096.</p>","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":" ","pages":"1247-1269"},"PeriodicalIF":29.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143572245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Vascular Normalization Augments the Anti-tumor Efficacy of Combined HDAC Inhibitor with Immunotherapy in Solid Tumors.","authors":"Min Wang, Yanxing Chen, Lin Tian, Chenyi Wu, Jiaying Chen, Jiajia Hu, Runjie Huang, Yingnan Wang, Jinling Zhang, Xiao-Jie Ouyang, Liqin Wang, Ying Jin, Qi Zhao, Feng Wang, Rui-Hua Xu","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.CD-24-1033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-24-1033","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Immunotherapy has made remarkable strides in treatment of solid tumors, but its efficacy as a single agent in cold tumor remains limited. It is urgent to explore novel drug combinations to further optimize immunotherapy. Herein, we demonstrated the histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), chidamide, enhanced chromatin accessibility at the promoters of effector molecules in CD8+ T cells, thereby augmenting their anti-tumor capabilities. Yet HDACi also induced the expression of VEGFa in pro-tumorigenic macrophages, which leaded to vascular abnormalization and hindered immune cells infiltration, compromising its potential synergistic effect with immunotherapy. Accordingly, combining anti-angiogenesis therapy counteracted the angiogenesis effects of HDACi, collaboratively unleashing the infiltration and functionality of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells. These findings were confirmed through scRNA-seq data from our patient samples. Thus, through mechanistic research, we proposed a new therapeutic approach by the combination of HDACi, anti-angiogenesis therapy, and immunotherapy and finally highlighted the potential application across diverse solid tumors.</p>","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":29.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144198260","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2025-05-22DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-25-0375
Yuxuan Wang,Corinne E Joshu,Samuel D Curtis,Christopher Douville,Vernon A Burk,Meng Ru,Maria Popoli,Janine Ptak,Lisa Dobbyn,Natalie Silliman,Josef Coresh,Eric Boerwinkle,Anna Prizment,Chetan Bettegowda,Kenneth W Kinzler,Nickolas Papadopoulos,Elizabeth A Platz,Bert Vogelstein
{"title":"Detection of cancers three years prior to diagnosis using plasma cell-free DNA.","authors":"Yuxuan Wang,Corinne E Joshu,Samuel D Curtis,Christopher Douville,Vernon A Burk,Meng Ru,Maria Popoli,Janine Ptak,Lisa Dobbyn,Natalie Silliman,Josef Coresh,Eric Boerwinkle,Anna Prizment,Chetan Bettegowda,Kenneth W Kinzler,Nickolas Papadopoulos,Elizabeth A Platz,Bert Vogelstein","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.cd-25-0375","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.cd-25-0375","url":null,"abstract":"To explore how early can cancers be detected prior to clinical signs or symptoms, we assessed prospectively collected serial plasma samples from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, including 26 participants diagnosed with cancer and 26 matched controls. At the index time point, eight of these 52 participants scored positively with a multicancer early detection (MCED) test. All eight participants were diagnosed with cancer within 4 months after blood collection. In six of these 8 participants, we were able to assess an earlier plasma sample collected 3.1 to 3.5 years prior to clinical diagnosis. In four of these six participants, the same mutations detected by the MCED test could be identified, but at 8.6 to 79-fold lower mutant allele fractions. These results demonstrate that it is possible to detect circulating tumor DNA more than three years prior to clinical diagnosis, and provide benchmark sensitivities required for this purpose.","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":28.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144114152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2025-05-14DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-24-1535
Nusrat Khan,Keiko Akagi,Shiming Jiang,Joe Dan Dunn,Bo Jiang,Weihong Xiao,Madison P O'Hara,Li Shen,Qi Wang,Vakul Mohanty,Jing Wang,Sara Goodwin,Jamie L Hutchins,Kevin R Coombes,Jagannadha K Sastry,David E Symer,Maura L Gillison
{"title":"Human papillomavirus integration induces oncogenic host gene fusions in oropharyngeal cancers.","authors":"Nusrat Khan,Keiko Akagi,Shiming Jiang,Joe Dan Dunn,Bo Jiang,Weihong Xiao,Madison P O'Hara,Li Shen,Qi Wang,Vakul Mohanty,Jing Wang,Sara Goodwin,Jamie L Hutchins,Kevin R Coombes,Jagannadha K Sastry,David E Symer,Maura L Gillison","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.cd-24-1535","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.cd-24-1535","url":null,"abstract":"HPV integration disrupts host genomic structure and expression, but whether these alterations promote cancer development remains unclear. Multiple genomic analyses of oropharyngeal cancers identified several host fusion genes, including recurrent FGFR3-TACC3 fusions, expressed from rearranged genomic loci adjacent to HPV integration sites. Evolutionary modeling implicated integration of virus concatemers into the host genome as a common initiating event in fusion formation. Co-expression of HPV16 E6/E7 and FGFR3-TACC3, but neither alone, was sufficient for tumor development in both xenograft and syngeneic mouse models and led to unique transcriptional programs implicated in carcinogenesis. FGFR3-TACC3 expression decreased the ubiquitination and degradation of E6 and E7, thereby increasing oncoprotein abundance. We conclude that expression of HPV16 oncoproteins and host gene fusions generated from HPV integration sites can be sufficient for cancer development.","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":28.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143945110","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2025-05-12DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-24-1383
Vindhya Vijay, Negin Karisani, Lei Shi, Yu-Han Hung, Phuong Vu, Prabhat Kattel, Lauren Kenney, Joshua Merritt, Ramzi Adil, Qibiao Wu, Yuanli Zhen, Robert Morris, Johannes Kreuzer, Meena Kathiresan, Xcanda Ixchel. Herrera Lopez, Haley Ellis, Ilaria Gritti, Lilian Lecorgne, Ines Farag, Alexandra Popa, William Shen, Hiroyuki Kato, Qin Xu, Eranga R. Balasooriya, Meng-Ju Wu, Jinkai Wan, Hiroshi Kondo, Saireudee Chaturantabut, Srivatsan Raghavan, Matthew D. Hall, Samarjit Patnaik, Min Shen, Robin K. Kelley, James M. Cleary, Michael S. Lawrence, David E. Root, Krushna C. Patra, Vanessa S. Silveira, Cyril H. Benes, Vikram Deshpande, Dejan Juric, William R. Sellers, Cristina R. Ferrone, Wilhelm Haas, Francisca Vazquez, Gad Getz, Nabeel Bardeesy
{"title":"Generation of a biliary tract cancer cell line atlas identifies molecular subtypes and therapeutic targets","authors":"Vindhya Vijay, Negin Karisani, Lei Shi, Yu-Han Hung, Phuong Vu, Prabhat Kattel, Lauren Kenney, Joshua Merritt, Ramzi Adil, Qibiao Wu, Yuanli Zhen, Robert Morris, Johannes Kreuzer, Meena Kathiresan, Xcanda Ixchel. Herrera Lopez, Haley Ellis, Ilaria Gritti, Lilian Lecorgne, Ines Farag, Alexandra Popa, William Shen, Hiroyuki Kato, Qin Xu, Eranga R. Balasooriya, Meng-Ju Wu, Jinkai Wan, Hiroshi Kondo, Saireudee Chaturantabut, Srivatsan Raghavan, Matthew D. Hall, Samarjit Patnaik, Min Shen, Robin K. Kelley, James M. Cleary, Michael S. Lawrence, David E. Root, Krushna C. Patra, Vanessa S. Silveira, Cyril H. Benes, Vikram Deshpande, Dejan Juric, William R. Sellers, Cristina R. Ferrone, Wilhelm Haas, Francisca Vazquez, Gad Getz, Nabeel Bardeesy","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.cd-24-1383","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.cd-24-1383","url":null,"abstract":"Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are aggressive malignancies encompassing intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, gallbladder carcinoma, and ampullary carcinoma. Here, we report integrative analysis of 63 BTC cell lines via multi-omics and genome-scale CRISPR screens. We identify widespread EGFR dependency in BTC, alongside dependencies selective to anatomic subtypes. Additionally, we delineate strategies to overcome therapeutic resistance, with combined EGFR inhibition potentiating targeting of KRAS-mutant and FGFR2-fusion-driven models, and SHP2 inhibition effective in the latter context. Clustering RNA/protein expression and dependencies data revealed functional relationships transcending single-gene alterations, with biliary, squamous, or dual biliary/hepatocyte lineage signatures stratifying BTC models. These subtypes exhibit distinct dependency profiles— including cell fate transcription factors GRHL2, TP63, and HNF1B, respectively— and demonstrate prognostic significance in patient samples. Potential subtype-specific targetable vulnerabilities include Integrin-a3 and the detoxification enzyme UXS1. This cell line atlas reveals therapeutic targets in molecularly-defined BTCs, unveils disease subtypes, and provides a resource for therapeutic development.","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":28.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143940624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2025-05-08DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-24-1678
Meredith S Shiels,Anika T Haque,Amy Berrington de González,M Constanza Camargo,Megan A Clarke,Brittny C Davis Lynn,Eric A Engels,Neal D Freedman,Gretchen L Gierach,Jonathan N Hofmann,Rena R Jones,Erikka Loftfield,Rashmi Sinha,Lindsay M Morton,Stephen J Chanock
{"title":"Trends in Cancer Incidence and Mortality Rates in Early-Onset and Older-Onset Age Groups in the United States, 2010-2019.","authors":"Meredith S Shiels,Anika T Haque,Amy Berrington de González,M Constanza Camargo,Megan A Clarke,Brittny C Davis Lynn,Eric A Engels,Neal D Freedman,Gretchen L Gierach,Jonathan N Hofmann,Rena R Jones,Erikka Loftfield,Rashmi Sinha,Lindsay M Morton,Stephen J Chanock","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.cd-24-1678","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.cd-24-1678","url":null,"abstract":"In the United States, incidence rates of some cancers have increased in early-onset age groups. For many of these cancers, rates have also increased in older-age groups, suggesting that the impact of changes in risk factor prevalence and/or improvements in detection could affect risk across the age range.","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":"68 1","pages":"OF1-OF14"},"PeriodicalIF":28.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143921020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2025-05-08DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-24-1712
Wenyan Xie, Xin Yu, Qingxin Yang, Nengwen Ke, Ping Wang, Hao Kong, Xiangji Wu, Panpan Ma, Lang Chen, Jie Yang, Xiuqin Feng, Yuan Wang, Hubing Shi, Lu Chen, Yun-Hua Liu, Bi-Sen Ding, Qiang Wei, Hong Jiang
{"title":"An immunomechanical checkpoint PYK2 governs monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation in pancreatic cancer","authors":"Wenyan Xie, Xin Yu, Qingxin Yang, Nengwen Ke, Ping Wang, Hao Kong, Xiangji Wu, Panpan Ma, Lang Chen, Jie Yang, Xiuqin Feng, Yuan Wang, Hubing Shi, Lu Chen, Yun-Hua Liu, Bi-Sen Ding, Qiang Wei, Hong Jiang","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.cd-24-1712","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.cd-24-1712","url":null,"abstract":"Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by a fibrotic, stiff tumor microenvironment (TME), where tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) drive ECM remodeling, progression, and immune evasion. The contribution of mechanical cues to monocyte differentiation into TAMs remains largely unexplored. Here we show that mechanical force is required for monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation. PYK2, as an innovative immunomechanical checkpoint, de facto governs this differentiation process. We demonstrated that PYK2 senses mechanical signals via Piezo1 and integrins, triggering F-actin polymerization and translocating to the nucleus to regulate mechanotransduction and differentiation genes (e.g., ACTR3, RELA). Targeted deletion of PYK2 impairs the differentiation and polarization of monocyte-derived macrophages, reshapes the PDAC microenvironment, and enhances the efficacy of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. These findings underscore the critical role of mechanical cues in monocyte differentiation and suggest that targeting PYK2 is a promising strategy to modulate TAM function and improve immunotherapy outcomes in patients with PDAC.","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":28.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143926583","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}