Fig. 6: Enhancing antitumor immunity with Serpinb9 deficiency and ICB combination therapy.

a Serpmine concentrations in TIF from Serpinb9 NC and Serpinb9 KD KPC tumors (n = 5 mice). b, c Tumor growth curves of Serpinb9 NC and Serpinb9 KD KPC tumors from immunocompetent (b) and immunodeficient mice (c) (n = 5 mice). d, e Survival of Serpinb9 NC and Serpinb9 KD KPC-bearing immunocompetent (d) and immunodeficient mice (d) (n = 10 mice). f Schematic of the protocol for CD8⁺ T cells depletion in orthotopic KPC (5 × 10⁵)-bearing mice receiving combination therapy. g Tumor photographs and weights from each mouse group (n = 5 mice). h Flow cytometry and statistical analysis of CD8⁺ T cells in spleens (n = 5 mice). i Representative images and quantification of aSMA (upper) and Sirius red (lower) in Serpinb9 NC and Serpinb9 KD pancreatic cancer tissues (n = 5 mice). Scale bars: 100 μm (upper), 75 μm (lower). j Representative images of luminescence intensity change in tumors, with final day luminescence intensity (n = 3 mice). k Tumor weights from each mouse group (n = 5 mice). l Schematic of the protocol of Serpinb9 deficiency combined with αPD-1/αPD-L1 therapy in orthotopic KPC Serpinb9 NC and Serpinb9 KD tumor-bearing mice. m Tumor photographs and weights from each mouse group (n = 5 mice). n Survival of mice in each group (n = 7 mice). o Flow cytometric analysis of CD8⁺ T cells, Ki67⁺CD8⁺ T cells, GZMB⁺CD8⁺ T cells, IFN-γ⁺CD8⁺ T cells, and PD-1⁺CD8⁺ T cells (n = 5 mice). For a–c, g–k, m, and o, data were shown as the means ± SD., n = 5 biologically independent samples. For d, e, and n data were generated using Kaplan-Meier survival curves based on log-rank tests. Statistical significance was determined using two-sided unpaired Student’s t-test or one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. NS, no significance. f and l were created in part with BioRender. Hanshen, Y. (https://BioRender.com/nfthfna). Source data are provided as a Source Data file.