NCOR1+/CD4+ T cells in tertiary lymphoid organs suppresses tumor growth and predicts favourable prognosis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

CD4+ T cells have critical roles in anti-tumour immunity and its differentiation is known to be regulated by the nuclear receptor co-repressor 1 (NCOR1). Previous studies suggested that high CD4+ T cells are associated with a favourable prognosis in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, the prognostic significance of NCOR1 in PDAC is still missing. In this study, the pathological impact of NCOR1 and CD4 has been analysed by multiplex immunohistochemistry in 100 PADC patients. NCOR1 expression in tertiary lymphoid organs is positively associated with the good prognosis of PDAC patients, while its expression in tumour tissue is not. Furthermore, the presence of NCOR1+/CD4+ T cells in tertiary lymphoid organs predicts a favourable prognosis in PDAC. Mechanistically, upregulation of NCOR1 expression in CD4+ T cells increases the release of TNF-α, which induces the apoptosis of the tumor cells in vitro . Together, our data highlighted the tumour suppressive role of NCOR1+/CD4+ T cells in PDAC.