Abstract

Abstract How pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) cells stimulate CXCR4 to exclude T cells and resist T cell checkpoint inhibitors is not known. We find that CXCL12, the ligand forCXCR4 that is produced by the cancer-associated fibroblast, “coats” human PDA and colorectal cancer cells as covalent heterodimers with keratin 19 (KRT19). Modeling the formation of the heterodimer with three proteins shows that KRT19 binds CXCL12 and transglutaminase-2 (TGM2), and that TGM2 converts the reversible KRT19-CXCL12 complex into the covalent heterodimer. This model is validated by showing that cancer cells in mouse PDA tumors must express KRT19 and TGM2 to become coated with CXCL12, exclude T cells, and resist immunotherapy with anti-PD-1 antibody. Thus, PDA cells have a cell-autonomous means by which they capture CXCL12 to mediate immune suppression, which is potentially amenable to therapy. Citation Format: Douglas Fearon, Zhikai Wang. Pancreatic cancer cells assemble a CXCL12-keratin 19 coating to resist immunotherapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2020 Sep 29-30. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(22 Suppl):Abstract nr IA-04.

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