Targeting spermine metabolism to overcome immunotherapy resistance in pancreatic cancer

While dysregulation of polyamine metabolism is frequently observed in cancer, it is unknown how polyamines alter the tumor microenvironment (TME) and contribute to therapeutic resistance. Analysis of polyamines in the plasma of pancreatic cancer patients reveals that spermine levels are significantly elevated and correlate with poor prognosis. Using a multi-omics approach, we identify Serpinb9 as a vulnerability in spermine metabolism in pancreatic cancer. Serpinb9, a serine protease inhibitor, directly interacts with spermine synthase (SMS), impeding its lysosome-mediated degradation and thereby augmenting spermine production and secretion. Mechanistically, the accumulation of spermine in the TME alters the metabolic landscape of immune cells, promoting CD8+ T cell dysfunction and pro-tumor polarization of macrophages, thus creating an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Small peptides that disrupt the Serpinb9-SMS interaction significantly enhance the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Together, our findings suggest that targeting spermine metabolism is a promising strategy to improve pancreatic cancer immunotherapy. Spermine is a polyamine dysregulated in different cancers. This group shows that Serpinb9 prevents spermine synthase degradation, raising spermine levels and impairing the tumor immune microenvironment, and identifying Serpinb9 as a potential therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer immunotherapy.