Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42648752›Full record

ArticleJournal for immunotherapy of cancer2026

Ascites reprograms innate lymphoid immune cells in ovarian cancer by promoting ILC2 enrichment and dysfunctional NK-cell states.

Bilal Alashkar Alhamwe, Fahd Alhamdan, Viviane Ponath, Nathalie Hoffmann, Celina Meena, Florian Fingernagel, Holger Garn, Kim Pauk, Corinna Keber, Carsten Denkert and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal for immunotherapy of cancer, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

12 authors.

Bilal Alashkar Alhamwe *Marburg University, Institute for Tumor Immunology, Marburg, Germany.
Fahd Alhamdan *Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Cardiac Anesthesia Division, Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Immunology and Anaesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Viviane Ponath *Marburg University, Institute for Tumor Immunology, Marburg, Germany.
Nathalie HoffmannMarburg University, Institute for Tumor Immunology, Marburg, Germany.
Celina MeenaMarburg University, Institute for Tumor Immunology, Marburg, Germany.
Florian FingernagelMarburg University, Institute for Tumor Immunology, Marburg, Germany.
Holger GarnMarburg University, Translational Inflammation Research Division & Core Facility for Single Cell Multiomics, Medical Faculty, Marburg, Germany.
Kim PaukMarburg University, Translational Inflammation Research Division & Core Facility for Single Cell Multiomics, Medical Faculty, Marburg, Germany.
Corinna KeberMarburg University and University Hospital Marburg (UKGM), Institute of Pathology, Marburg, Germany.
Carsten DenkertMarburg University and University Hospital Marburg (UKGM), Institute of Pathology, Marburg, Germany.
Silke ReinartzMarburg University, Translational Oncology, Center for Tumor Biology and Immunology (ZTI), Marburg, Germany.
Elke Pogge von StrandmannMarburg University, Institute for Tumor Immunology, Marburg, Germany poggevon@staff.uni-marburg.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4785-9165

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHigh-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is commonly accompanied by malignant ascites, a clinically relevant tumor niche that promotes immune evasion, metastasis, and treatment resistance. Although natural killer (NK)-cell dysfunction has been described in ovarian cancer, the broader innate lymphoid landscape of ascites and the mechanisms linking ascites-derived signals to innate immune suppression remain insufficiently resolved.

methodsWe performed single-cell RNA sequencing of NK/innate lymphoid cells from ovarian cancer ascites to define cellular heterogeneity and differentiation states. Functional assays assessed NK-cell cytotoxicity, degranulation, and receptor expression following exposure to patient-derived ascites, with or without transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) receptor inhibition. Proteomic profiling was used to characterize the soluble ascites milieu, and clinical associations were examined for innate lymphoid subsets.

resultsSingle-cell analysis identified eight transcriptionally distinct NK/innate lymphoid states, including cytotoxic, precursor, early-like, tolerant/immunoregulatory, regulatory, proinflammatory, and innate lymphoid populations. Ovarian cancer ascites was characterized by depletion of cytotoxic and precursor NK-cell states together with enrichment of early-like, tolerant, regulatory, pro-inflammatory, and innate lymphoid cell (ILC) populations. Trajectory analysis indicated impaired maturation toward terminally differentiated cytotoxic NK cells. Notably, ascites contained an expanded population of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)

conclusionsHGSOC ascites establishes a type 2-skewed immunoregulatory niche that coordinately drives NK cell dysfunction and PD-1

Indexed as

AscitesImmunity, InnateKiller Cells, NaturalLymphocytesOvarian NeoplasmsFemaleHumansOvarian Cancer

Identifiers

PMID42648752
PMCPMC13536108

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

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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.