Saliva exosomes from pancreatic tumor-bearing mice modulate NK cell phenotype and antitumor cytotoxicity

Tumor exosomes are emerging as antitumor immunity regulators; however, their effects on secondary exosome secretion by distal organs have not been explored. We have previously demonstrated that suppression of exosomes at the distal tumor site of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) ablated the development of salivary biomarker profile. Here, we explore the function of salivary exosomes from tumor-bearing mice in immune surveillance. We provide evidence that salivary exosomes from mice with PDA Cexhibit a suppressive effect that results in reduced tumor-killing capacity by NK cells. Salivary exosomes from mice with PDAC where pancreatic tumors were engineered to suppress exosome biogenesis failed to suppress NK cell cytotoxic potential against tumor cells, as opposed to salivary exosomes from mice with PDAC with normal tumor exosome biogenesis. These results reveal an important and previously unknown mechanism of antitumor immune regulation and provide new in sights into our understanding of the alterations of this biofluid during tumor development.