Comparison of immune infiltrates in melanoma and pancreatic cancer highlights VISTA as a potential target in pancreatic cancer

Authors: Jorge Blando, Anu Sharma, Maria G. Higa, Hao Zhao, Luis M. Vence, Shalini S. Yadav, Jiseong Kim, Alejandro Martínez Sepúlveda, Michael Sharp, Anirban Maitra, Jennifer A. Wargo, Michael T. Tetzlaff, Russell Broaddus, Matthew H. G. Katz, Gauri R. Varadhachary, Michael J. Overman, Huamin Wang, Cassian Yee, Chantale Bernatchez, Christine A. Iacobuzio–Donahue, Sreyashi Basu, James P. Allison, Padmanee Sharma - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS 2019 cited by 327

Significance The study demonstrates that V-domain immunoglobulin suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA) is an immune checkpoint that is preferentially expressed at higher levels in pancreatic cancer. The study gives a detailed analysis of immune infiltration in primary and metastatic pancreatic tumors compared with melanoma, which differs in its tumor/stromal distribution. Our data indicate that human pancreatic tumors express CD68 + macrophages and highlight the inhibitory checkpoint molecule VISTA as a potential immunotherapeutic target in pancreatic cancer.