Evidence mapPaperPMID 42382780Full record

ArticleFrontiers in immunology2026

TMEM160 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation, invasion, and immune evasion by regulating the VEGFA/PI3K/AKT signaling axis.

Guodong Shi, Dehua Liu, Jinhan Qiao

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in immunology, 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

3 authors.

Guodong ShiDepartment of Interventional Therapy, Cancer Hospital of Dalian University of Technology, Shenyang, China.
Dehua LiuDepartment of Interventional Therapy, Cancer Hospital of Dalian University of Technology, Shenyang, China.
Jinhan QiaoDepartment of Interventional Therapy, Cancer Hospital of Dalian University of Technology, Shenyang, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a major cause of cancer-related mortality, and TMEM160 is potentially involved in tumor progression and immune escape. This study aimed to determine the expression pattern and clinical relevance of TMEM160 in HCC. Methods: TMEM160 expression was analyzed in public HCC cohorts and validated in 76 paired HCC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues. Survival associations were assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis. TMEM160 was silenced in Huh7 and Hep3B cells and overexpressed in SNU449 cells, followed by assays of proliferation, invasion, and endothelial tube formation using HUVECs conditioned medium. PD-L1 protein expression was detected by Western blotting. HCC cells were co-cultured with PBMCs, followed by ELISA detection of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-10, and TGF-β secretion and flow cytometric analysis of CD8 Results: TMEM160 was increased in HCC tissues and HCC cells, and high TMEM160 expression was associated with poorer overall survival. TMEM160 knockdown reduced HCC cell viability, invasion, HUVEC tube formation with decreased VEGFA expression. TMEM160 knockdown also decreased PD-L1 protein levels in HCC cells. TMEM160 modulation was accompanied by concordant changes in PI3K/AKT phosphorylation, and VEGFA overexpression increased PI3K/AKT phosphorylation and partially rescued inhibitory phenotypes caused by TMEM160 silencing. Conclusion: These findings supported that TMEM160 might affect VEGFA-associated PI3K/AKT signaling to promote malignant phenotypes in HCC, suggesting TMEM160 as a candidate molecular target for further investigation.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, HepatocellularLiver NeoplasmsMembrane ProteinsPhosphatidylinositol 3-KinasesProto-Oncogene Proteins c-aktTumor EscapeVascular Endothelial Growth Factor AAnimalsCell Line, TumorCell ProliferationFemaleGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMaleMiceMiddle AgedMembrane ProteinsPhosphatidylinositol 3-KinasesProto-Oncogene Proteins c-aktVascular Endothelial Growth Factor AVEGFA protein, humanangiogenesishepatocellular carcinomaimmune evasionPI3K/AKTTMEM160VEGFA

Identifiers

PMID42382780
PMCPMC13314857

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.