Fig. 2. NEK2 deficiency improves pancreatic cancer immunogenicity.

a, c Schematic protocols displaying WT and NEK2-depleted pancreatic cancer cells separately, and s.c. injection into immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice (n = 7). b, e Representative images of tumors and growth curves of immunocompetent mice. Tumors were measured at specified time points then dissected at the endpoint (n = 7). d, f Representative images of tumors and growth curves of tumors from immunodeficient mice. Tumors were measured at specified time points and dissected at the endpoint (n = 7). g, h The weight of tumors from immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice was reported at the endpoint (n = 7). i, j Representative images and statistical results of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (n = 7). k Schematic protocols showing WT and NEK2-depleted pancreatic cancer cells separately injected into immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice (n = 13). l, m Survival of immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice bearing NEK2-depleted pancreatic cancer cells (n = 13). Kaplan–Meier survival curves with log-rank test assessing the significance between WT and NEK2 KD immunocompetent (l) (p < 0.0001) and immunodeficient (m) (p = 0.33) mice. Results represent means ± SD of one representative experiment in e–j. All data are representative of three independently performed experiments. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 using a two-tailed t-test; ns: not significant. Kaplan–Meier method and a Gehan–Breslow–Wilcoxon test are indicated in m and l.