Tumor-intrinsic MHC-II activation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma enhances immune response and treatment efficacy.

ABSTRACT: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and poor prognosis. While major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) expression is traditionally associated with professional antigen-presenting cells, its role in PDAC malignant cells remains underexplored. Herein, we utilized single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), spatial transcriptomics, bulk RNA sequencing, multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC) and ex vivo studies in culture with both human and murine models to investigate the prognostic relevance of MHC-II expression in malignant PDAC cells. Elevated MHC-II expression in malignant cells was strongly associated with increased infiltration of CD4⁺ T and CD8⁺ T cells in human PDAC, and pronounced co

SUBMITTER: Chen C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12633208 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature