The tumor microenvironment (TME) actively contributes to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) pathogenesis through dynamic bidirectional tumor-stroma interactions. Here, we demonstrated that ATM-deficient tumor epithelium reprograms the TME in a genotype-specific manner to enhance cancer aggressiveness. In genetically engineered mouse models, pancreatic stellate cell (PSC) and cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) co-culture systems, single-nucleus multiomics, and human PDAC models, tumoral loss of ATM serine/threonine kinase drove CAFs toward αSMA+ myofibroblastic (myCAF) differentiation, independently of p53 status. The myCAFs, in turn, promoted cancer aggressiveness and chemoresistance. Mechanistically, ATM deficiency increased reactive oxygen species and contractility signaling, enhancing TGF-β1 secretion. Pharmacological TGF-β inhibition reversed myCAF differentiation, sensitized tumors to chemotherapy, and impaired tumor progression in both murine and human ATM-null models. These findings reveal that ATM-deficient tumors shape a cancer-promoting niche via TGF-β signaling and identify dual targeting of intrinsic and extrinsic vulnerabilities as a promising precision oncology strategy.
Roger et al. (2026) studied this question.