- Tadepalli, Sirimuvva;
- Clements, Derek;
- Raquer-McKay, Hayley;
- Lüdtke, Anja;
- Saravanan, Sanjana;
- Seong, David;
- Vitek, Lorraine;
- Richards, Christopher;
- Carette, Jan;
- Mack, Matthias;
- Gottfried-Blackmore, Andres;
- Graves, Edward;
- Idoyaga, Juliana
Monocytes infiltrating tumors acquire various states that distinctly impact cancer treatment. Here, we show that resistance of tumors to radiotherapy (RT) is controlled by the accumulation of monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs). These moDCs are characterized by the expression of CD301b and have a superior capacity to generate regulatory T cells (Tregs). Accordingly, moDC depletion limits Treg generation and improves the therapeutic outcome of RT. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) derived from radioresistant tumor cells following RT is necessary for the accumulation of moDCs. Our results unravel the immunosuppressive function of moDCs and identify GM-CSF as an immunotherapeutic target during RT.