Tumor-specific CD4 T cells instruct monocyte differentiation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a lethal malignancy resistant to immunotherapy. The pancreatic tumor microenvironment is shaped and maintained by myeloid cells that outnumber tumor cells. Here, using monocyte fate-mapping PDA mouse models and human tumor tissues, we identify monocytes give rise to most heterogeneous macrophage subpopulations in PDA. We show that monocyte differentiation is governed by the local presence of CD4, but not CD8, T cells. We demonstrate that tumor specific CD4 T cells induce monocyte differentiation into antitumor MHCIIhi proinflammatory macrophages dependent on non-redundant IFNg and CD40 signaling pathways that suppress tumor growth. Pancreatic tissue-resident macrophages exhibit an immunosuppressive pro-tumor state that is refractory to the modulatory effects of antitumor CD4 T cells. Intratumoral monocytes adopt a pro-tumor fate indistinguishable from tissue-resident macrophages following CD4 T cell depletion. Thus, tumor-specific CD4 T cell governance of monocyte fate promotes immune-mediated control of solid tumors.