Evidence mapPaperPMID 41350522Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Targeting TNK2/ACK1 reverses the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and synergizes with immunochemotherapy in pancreatic cancer.

Chao Wu, Weishuai Liu, Xiangting Hu, Yongjie Xie, Shengnan Li, Xinyue Liu, Zhaojun Sun, Xiaoling Li, Xin Yu, Yudong Yuan and 15 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Targeting tumor transition windows.Exploration of targeted anti-tumor therapy · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

25 authors.

Chao Wu *Pancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Weishuai Liu *National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, China.
Xiangting Hu *Pancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Yongjie Xie *Pancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Shengnan Li *Cancer Center, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, China.
Xinyue LiuPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Zhaojun SunPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Xiaoling LiDepartment of Oncology, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Xin YuPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Yudong YuanPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Yiping ZouPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Ran AnPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Yanan ChenSchool of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.
Hailong WangNational Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, China.
Yukuan FengPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Song GaoPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Hongwei WangPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Yifei WangPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Nan WangPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9318-0079
Chao YangPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3422-2763
Jun YuPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3435-6550
Peiqing SunDepartment of Cancer Biology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. psun@wakehealth.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2255-6504
Chongbiao HuangPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China. chhuang@tmu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9468-9168
Antao ChangPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China. changantao@tjmuch.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9442-619X
Jihui HaoPancreas Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China. haojihui@tjmuch.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1607-1730

Funding

China Postdoctoral Science Foundation 2022M712388National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82030092National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82072657National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82072659National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82203019National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82271895National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82272680National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82272799National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82303718National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82472838National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82473460
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains highly lethal due to its aggressive nature and limited treatment options, with the efficacy of immunotherapy constrained by a uniquely immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). In this study, we identify TNK2/ACK1 as a key regulator of the immunosuppressive TME in PDAC. TNK2/ACK1 is significantly upregulated in PDAC, at least in part via gene amplification and KRAS-G12 mutations. Mechanistically, TNK2/ACK1 directly phosphorylates and activates STAT5A to induce the expression of the immune checkpoint HVEM, which suppresses CD8⁺ T-cell function via its receptor BTLA. Pharmacologic targeting of TNK2/ACK1 with AIM100 or (R)-9b enhances CD8⁺ T-cell activation and cytotoxicity while reprogramming the TME. Furthermore, combining TNK2/ACK1 inhibitors with anti-PD-1 immunotherapy or with nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine demonstrates promising antitumor efficacy in both allograft and spontaneous PDAC models. Overall, our findings reveal a mechanism of immune evasion and provide a potential framework for developing tailored immunotherapeutic strategies in PDAC.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Pancreatic DuctalImmunotherapyPancreatic NeoplasmsProtein-Tyrosine KinasesTumor MicroenvironmentAnimalsCD8-Positive T-LymphocytesCell Line, TumorDeoxycytidineFemaleGemcitabineGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMiceMice, Inbred C57BLPaclitaxelDeoxycytidineGemcitabinePaclitaxelProtein-Tyrosine Kinases

Identifiers

PMID41350522
PMCPMC12804714

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.