Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42289469›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

POTEF upregulation drives hepatocellular carcinoma progression via oncogenic signaling and immune modulation.

Zan Li, Hao Li, Hao Ren, Shujie Cheng, Zhiyuan Luo, Jihong Yang, Jisen Zhao, Yuanlong Zhou, Feiyang Zhang, Peijun Ying and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 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

12 authors.

Zan LiClinical Medical College, Hebei University, Baoding, 071000, Hebei, China.
Hao Li *Clinical Medical College, Hebei University, Baoding, 071000, Hebei, China.
Hao Ren *Clinical Medical College, Hebei University, Baoding, 071000, Hebei, China.
Shujie ChengClinical Medical College, Hebei University, Baoding, 071000, Hebei, China. Chengshuj@126.com.
Zhiyuan Luo *Clinical Medical College, Hebei University, Baoding, 071000, Hebei, China.
Jihong Yang *Clinical Medical College, Hebei University, Baoding, 071000, Hebei, China.
Jisen Zhao *Clinical Medical College, Hebei University, Baoding, 071000, Hebei, China.
Yuanlong ZhouClinical Medical College, Hebei University, Baoding, 071000, Hebei, China.
Feiyang ZhangClinical Medical College, Hebei University, Baoding, 071000, Hebei, China.
Peijun YingClinical Medical College, Hebei University, Baoding, 071000, Hebei, China.
De LiuClinical Medical College, Hebei University, Baoding, 071000, Hebei, China.
Tingting WangClinical Medical College, Hebei University, Baoding, 071000, Hebei, China.

Funding

Colleges and Universities in Hebei Province Science and Technology Research Project ZD2022078Hebei Government-funded Outstanding Clinical Medical Talents Project ZF2023230
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Members of the POTE gene family have been implicated in tumorigenesis across multiple malignancies. However, the biological and clinical significance of POTEF in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. Differential expression analyses of POTE family genes were performed using transcriptomic sequencing of 12 paired HCC and adjacent tissues and validated using TCGA and GEO datasets. POTEF expression was further confirmed by qRT-PCR, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry in clinical specimens. Functional assays, including CCK-8, wound-healing, apoptosis, and xenograft experiments, were conducted following POTEF overexpression or silencing in Huh7 cells. Transcriptomic analyses, pathway enrichment, and immune infiltration analyses were subsequently performed. POTEF was significantly upregulated in HCC tissues and was associated with unfavorable prognosis, advanced pathological stage, vascular invasion, and elevated serum AFP levels. Functional assays demonstrated that POTEF promoted hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation and migration while suppressing apoptosis in vitro, and xenograft experiments further showed that POTEF enhanced tumor growth in vivo.Transcriptomic profiling revealed enrichment of pathways related to extracellular matrix remodeling and carcinogenesis-associated signaling. Further experimental analyses suggested that POTEF may contribute to HCC progression partly through epithelial-mesenchymal transition-associated regulation. In addition, POTEF expression was positively associated with macrophage infiltration, particularly CD163-positive macrophage enrichment. Collectively, these findings indicate that POTEF is significantly upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma and is associated with EMT-related regulation and macrophage infiltration, highlighting its potential clinical relevance as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, HepatocellularImmunomodulationLiver NeoplasmsUp-RegulationAnimalsApoptosisCarcinogenesisCell Line, TumorCell MovementCell ProliferationDisease ProgressionEpithelial-Mesenchymal TransitionFemaleGene Expression ProfilingGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansBiomarkerEMTHepatocellular carcinomaMacrophage infiltrationPOTEFPrognosis

Identifiers

PMID42289469
PMCPMC13400645

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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.