- Bianchi, Anna;
- De Castro Silva, Iago;
- Deshpande, Nilesh;
- Singh, Samara;
- Mehra, Siddharth;
- Garrido, Vanessa;
- Guo, Xinyu;
- Nivelo, Luis;
- Kolonias, Despina;
- Saigh, Shannon;
- Wieder, Eric;
- Rafie, Christine;
- Dosch, Austin;
- Zhou, Zhiqun;
- Umland, Oliver;
- Amirian, Haleh;
- Ogobuiro, Ifeanyichukwu;
- Zhang, Jian;
- Ban, Yuguang;
- Shiau, Carina;
- Nagathihalli, Nagaraj;
- Montgomery, Elizabeth;
- Hwang, William;
- Brambilla, Roberta;
- Villarino, Alejandro;
- Toska, Eneda;
- Stanger, Ben;
- Gabrilovich, Dmitry;
- Merchant, Nipun;
- Datta, Jashodeep;
- Komanduri, Krishna
UNLABELLED: We have shown that KRAS-TP53 genomic coalteration is associated with immune-excluded microenvironments, chemoresistance, and poor survival in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients. By treating KRAS-TP53 cooperativity as a model for high-risk biology, we now identify cell-autonomous Cxcl1 as a key mediator of spatial T-cell restriction via interactions with CXCR2+ neutrophilic myeloid-derived suppressor cells in human PDAC using imaging mass cytometry. Silencing of cell-intrinsic Cxcl1 in LSL-KrasG12D/+;Trp53R172H/+;Pdx-1Cre/+(KPC) cells reprograms the trafficking and functional dynamics of neutrophils to overcome T-cell exclusion and controls tumor growth in a T cell-dependent manner. Mechanistically, neutrophil-derived TNF is a central regulator of this immunologic rewiring, instigating feed-forward Cxcl1 overproduction from tumor cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF), T-cell dysfunction, and inflammatory CAF polarization via transmembrane TNF-TNFR2 interactions. TNFR2 inhibition disrupts this circuitry and improves sensitivity to chemotherapy in vivo. Our results uncover cancer cell-neutrophil cross-talk in which context-dependent TNF signaling amplifies stromal inflammation and immune tolerance to promote therapeutic resistance in PDAC. SIGNIFICANCE: By decoding connections between high-risk tumor genotypes, cell-autonomous inflammatory programs, and myeloid-enriched/T cell-excluded contexts, we identify a novel role for neutrophil-derived TNF in sustaining immunosuppression and stromal inflammation in pancreatic tumor microenvironments. This work offers a conceptual framework by which targeting context-dependent TNF signaling may overcome hallmarks of chemoresistance in pancreatic cancer. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1275.