Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38625739›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of clinical investigation2024

The secreted micropeptide C4orf48 enhances renal fibrosis via an RNA-binding mechanism.

Jiayi Yang, Hongjie Zhuang, Jinhua Li, Ana B Nunez-Nescolarde, Ning Luo, Huiting Chen, Andy Li, Xinli Qu, Qing Wang, Jinjin Fan and 12 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of clinical investigation, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Renal IGFBP6 Interacts With THBS1 to Drive Renal Cellular Senescence and Fibrosis.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
  2. European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Renal tubular epithelial IGFBP7 interacts with PKM2 to drive renal lipid accumulation and fibrosis.Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

22 authors.

Jiayi YangDepartment of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Hongjie ZhuangDepartment of Paediatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Jinhua LiDepartment of Nephrology and.
Ana B Nunez-NescolardeDepartment of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
Ning LuoDepartment of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Huiting ChenThe Second Clinical College, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, Guangdong, China.
Andy LiDepartment of Nephrology, Monash Health and Department of Medicine and.
Xinli QuDepartment of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
Qing WangDepartment of Nephrology and.
Jinjin FanDepartment of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Xiaoyan BaiDepartment of Nephrology and.
Zhiming YeDepartment of Nephrology and.
Bing GuDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital and Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
Yue MengDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital and Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
Xingyuan ZhangDepartment of Biostatistics, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Di WuDepartment of Biostatistics, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Youyang SiaSchool of Life Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Xiaoyun JiangDepartment of Paediatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Wei ChenDepartment of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Alexander N CombesDepartment of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
David J Nikolic-PatersonDepartment of Nephrology, Monash Health and Department of Medicine and.
Xueqing YuDepartment of Nephrology and.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Renal interstitial fibrosis is an important mechanism in the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) to end-stage kidney disease. However, we lack specific treatments to slow or halt renal fibrosis. Ribosome profiling identified upregulation of a secreted micropeptide, C4orf48 (Cf48), in mouse diabetic nephropathy. Cf48 RNA and protein levels were upregulated in tubular epithelial cells in human and experimental CKD. Serum Cf48 levels were increased in human CKD and correlated with loss of kidney function, increasing CKD stage, and the degree of active interstitial fibrosis. Cf48 overexpression in mice accelerated renal fibrosis, while Cf48 gene deletion or knockdown by antisense oligonucleotides significantly reduced renal fibrosis in CKD models. In vitro, recombinant Cf48 (rCf48) enhanced TGF-β1-induced fibrotic responses in renal fibroblasts and epithelial cells independently of Smad3 phosphorylation. Cellular uptake of Cf48 and its profibrotic response in fibroblasts operated via the transferrin receptor. RNA immunoprecipitation-sequencing identified Cf48 binding to mRNA of genes involved in the fibrotic response, including Serpine1, Acta2, Ccn2, and Col4a1. rCf48 binds to the 3'UTR of Serpine1 and increases mRNA half-life. We identify the secreted Cf48 micropeptide as a potential enhancer of renal fibrosis that operates as an RNA-binding peptide to promote the production of extracellular matrix.

Indexed as

Diabetic NephropathiesFibrosisNerve Tissue ProteinsRenal Insufficiency, Chronic3' Untranslated RegionsAnimalsHumansKidneyMaleMiceMice, KnockoutRNA-Binding ProteinsSmad3 ProteinTransforming Growth Factor beta13' Untranslated RegionsC4ORF48 protein, humanNerve Tissue ProteinsRNA-Binding ProteinsSmad3 ProteinTransforming Growth Factor beta1FibrosisNephrology

Identifiers

PMID38625739
PMCPMC11093611

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.