Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41699359›Full record

ArticleDiscover oncology2026

AFP confers the resistance of lenvatinib in hepatocellular carcinoma by activating PI3K/AKT/LDHA signaling axis.

Weimei Xing, Fang Wang, Siren Feng, Xiaowei Li, Yuli Zhou, Huayi Wu, Bo Lin, Xu Dong, Mengsen Li, Mingyue Zhu

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Discover oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

10 authors.

Weimei Xing *Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine, Ministry of Education, and Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, Hainan, People's Republic of China.
Fang Wang *Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine, Ministry of Education, and Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, Hainan, People's Republic of China.
Siren Feng *Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine, Ministry of Education, and Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, Hainan, People's Republic of China.
Xiaowei LiKey Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine, Ministry of Education, and Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, Hainan, People's Republic of China.
Yuli ZhouKey Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine, Ministry of Education, and Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, Hainan, People's Republic of China.
Huayi WuKey Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine, Ministry of Education, and Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, Hainan, People's Republic of China.
Bo LinKey Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine, Ministry of Education, and Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, Hainan, People's Republic of China.
Xu DongKey Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine, Ministry of Education, and Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, Hainan, People's Republic of China.
Mengsen LiKey Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine, Ministry of Education, and Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, Hainan, People's Republic of China. mengsenli@163.com.
Mingyue ZhuKey Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine, Ministry of Education, and Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, Hainan, People's Republic of China. mingyuezhu2002@163.com.

Funding

Natural Science Foundation of Hainan Province 822RC700Natural Science Foundation of Hainan Province 824RC517the Hainan Provincial Graduate Student Innovative Research Project Qhys2024-440the National Natural Science Foundation of China 82460602the National Natural Science Foundation of China 82560459
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study aimed to explore whether alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) promotes resistance of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells to lenvatinib by regulating the activity of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) and triggering the Warburg effect. Analysis of 30 clinical HCC samples revealed that the expression of AFP and LDHA in cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues and that there was a positive correlation between their expression levels. Cell function experiments (such as MTT and colony formation assays) confirmed that AFP significantly enhances the resistance of HCC cells to lenvatinib. Mechanistic studies have found that AFP can promote glycolysis in HCC cells (manifested as an enhanced Warburg effect, increased glucose consumption, lactate production, and ATP production) and upregulate the expression of glycolysis-related proteins, which is dependent on LDHA. Further mechanistic studies indicated that AFP regulates LDHA activity by activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Therefore, this study revealed that AFP enhances glycolysis by stimulating the activation of the PI3K/AKT/LDHA signaling axis, thereby inducing resistance of HCC cells to lenvatinib. This study provided a new theoretical basis for overcoming lenvatinib resistance by targeting AFP and inhibiting LDHA expression.

Indexed as

Alpha-fetoproteinDrug resistanceHepatocellular carcinomaLactic acid dehydrogenase ALenvatinib

Identifiers

PMID41699359
PMCPMC13013854

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.