Fig. 2: Ablation of nociceptor neurons improves the infiltration and cytotoxic function of NK cells.

a scRNA-seq was performed on murine PDAC tissues to determine the impact of nociceptive denervation on the TME. Cluster analysis with UAMP visualization: each color represents a cell group identified through clustering, with scatter points indicating individual cells. b Differences in cell populations revealed by integrated visualization. c Proportional analysis for NK cell through scRNA-seq. Left, proportion of NK cell in all the cell types. Right, proportion of NK cell from vehicle or RTX group in total NK cells from both groups. d Proportional analysis for T cell. Left, proportion of T cell in all the cell types. Right, proportion of T cell from vehicle or RTX group in total T cells from both groups. e Volcanic maps showed transcriptional expression of NK cell activation markers TNF-α (Tnfa), IFN-γ (Ifng), and granzyme B (Gzmb) in the TME of RTX-treated PDAC mice. The horizontal coordinate represents the difference of the pct value, the vertical coordinate represents the adjusted P value, and the color of the scatter plot represents the range of the log₂FC (fold change) value. f Percentage of CD3^– NK1.1⁺ cells in CD45⁺ cells by flow cytometry analysis. Left, representative images; right, quantification (n = 8 mice/group). g Percentage of CD3⁺ T cells in CD45⁺ cells. Left, representative images; right, quantification (n = 8 mice/group). h Representative images of CD4⁺ or CD8⁺ T cells. i Comparison of percentages of CD4⁺ T cells and CD8⁺ T cells in CD3⁺ T cells between vehicle and RTX groups (n = 8 mice/group). j, k Expression of the activation markers including TNF-α (j) and GrzmB (k) of NK cells. Left, representative images of flow cytometry; right, quantification (n = 8 mice/group). Data are shown as mean ± SEM; ns not significant, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.