Adjustment of dendritic cells to the breast-cancer microenvironment is subset-specific

Dendritic cell (DC) function and molecular profile rely on the interplay between ontogeny and tissue imprint. How tumors shape human DC is unknown. We systematically studied four DC subsets and monocyte/macrophages (MMAC) transcriptome from human primary Luminal (LBC) and triple-negative (TNBC) breast cancer, using RNA-seq. We found that a majority (85%) of genes upregulated in LBC-DC, as compared to DC from matched non-invaded tissue, were subset-specific. However, we also identified the interferon pathway as commonly enriched in all subsets of TNBC-DC, as compared to LBC-DC. Last, we defined DC subset-specific signatures, which had prognostic impact in their respective breast cancer subtype. We conclude that, rather than harboring a unique tissue imprint, DC adjustment to the tumor microenvironment is subset-specific. Our work also provides a resource to find potential targets and biomarkers that may improve antitumor therapies.