Evidence mapPaperPMID 40636697Full record

ArticleFrontiers in oncology2025

RBP7 knockdown inhibits proliferation of human hepatocellular carcinoma and activates the p38 MAPK pathway.

Jinhai Li, Huawei Zhai, Fujing Cai, Xian Zhang, Yu Zhou, Shuqun Li, Huachun Song, Haifeng Zhang, Guangzheng Sun, Minghui Zhu and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

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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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

13 authors.

Jinhai Li *Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China.
Huawei Zhai *Department of Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Fujing Cai *Department of Infectious Diseases, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Xian ZhangZhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education, Wenzhou, China.
Yu ZhouDepartment of Infectious Diseases, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Shuqun LiShengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China.
Huachun SongShengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China.
Haifeng ZhangDepartment of Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Guangzheng SunDepartment of Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Minghui ZhuDepartment of Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Jing YuanDepartment of Medicine Radiology, The Zhejiang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Ningxin ZhangZhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education, Wenzhou, China.
Maolin YanShengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Retinoid metabolism is critical for maintaining liver homeostasis, and its dysregulation is closely associated with liver diseases. Retinol binding protein 7 (RBP7) involves in retinoids transport, particularly in liver, indicating its importance in hepatic functions. However, its specific role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumorigenesis remains unclear and needs to further investigation. Methods: Bioinformatics was employed to assess RBP7 expression across different cohorts. The expression level of RBP7 in cells were further validated using qRT-PCR and western blot. Additionally, we investigated the impact of RBP7 knockdown on cell cycle-related genes, apoptosis-related proteins, and p38 MAPK signaling activity. Functional assays, including CCK8, colony formation, flow cytometry (FACS) analysis, Annexin V/7-AAD staining and xenograft tumor assay, were performed to determine the Results: RBP7 is frequently elevated in HCC tumor tissues, particularly in early-stage patients. Notably, high RBP7 expression is closely correlated with overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) in HCC patients. Knockdown of RBP7 inhibited cell proliferation Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that RBP7 suppression activates p38 MAPK signaling pathway, leading to impaired cell proliferation. These results suggest that RBP7 may serve as both a prognostic biomarker and a promising therapeutic target for HCC.

Indexed as

cell proliferationhepatocellular carcinomaMAPKp38RBP7retinoid

Identifiers

PMID40636697
PMCPMC12237887

What Socratic holds

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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.