Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42419879›Full record

ArticleJournal for immunotherapy of cancer2026

UDP-glucuronate decarboxylase 1 promotes tumor immune evasion by accelerating KMT2D loss in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Jiwei Zhang, Yuan Li, Jiafeng Chen, Fen Ma, Ben Feng, Shiling Zhou, Yongchao Cai, Yidi Sun, Zheng Gao, Enfu Dong and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal for immunotherapy of cancer, 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

14 authors.

Jiwei Zhang *The MOE Key Laboratory for Standardization of Chinese Medicines, Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China ding.zhenbin@zs-hospital.sh.cn lzshanghai@163.com jove1024@hotmail.com fu.xiutao@zs-hospital.sh.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8912-5069
Yuan Li *The MOE Key Laboratory for Standardization of Chinese Medicines, Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Jiafeng Chen *Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Fen Ma *The MOE Key Laboratory for Standardization of Chinese Medicines, Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Ben FengThe MOE Key Laboratory for Standardization of Chinese Medicines, Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Shiling ZhouThe MOE Key Laboratory for Standardization of Chinese Medicines, Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Yongchao CaiInstitute for Regenerative Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Cardiology and Medical Innovation Center, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Yidi SunInstitute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Zheng GaoDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Enfu DongDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Jia FanDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute and Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion (Ministry of Education), Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5158-629X
Xiutao FuDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China ding.zhenbin@zs-hospital.sh.cn lzshanghai@163.com jove1024@hotmail.com fu.xiutao@zs-hospital.sh.cn.
Zhe LiThe Center for Cancer Research, Academy of Integrative Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China ding.zhenbin@zs-hospital.sh.cn lzshanghai@163.com jove1024@hotmail.com fu.xiutao@zs-hospital.sh.cn.
Zhenbin DingDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China ding.zhenbin@zs-hospital.sh.cn lzshanghai@163.com jove1024@hotmail.com fu.xiutao@zs-hospital.sh.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundImmune checkpoint blockade (ICB) targeting the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) axis has shown promise in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but clinical responses are often limited in durability. Identifying novel drivers of immune evasion is crucial for improving therapeutic strategies.

methodsWe employed a multi-omics integrative framework to identify HCC-specific immune biomarkers. Functional roles were validated using in vitro and in vivo models, including UDP-glucuronate decarboxylase 1 (UXS1) knockout/overexpression, co-culture assays, and various mouse models. Molecular mechanisms were dissected using immunoprecipitation coupled with mass spectrometry, ubiquitination assays, chromatin immunoprecipitation, luciferase reporter assays, and single-cell RNA sequencing.

resultsWe identified the glycosyltransferase UXS1 as a novel immune-related prognostic hub gene in HCC. UXS1 was upregulated due to copy number gain and MZF1-driven promoter hypomethylation. Functionally, UXS1 promoted HCC malignancy independently of its canonical enzymatic activity. Mechanistically, UXS1 interacted with the E3 ligase F-box and WD repeat domain-containing 7 (FBXW7) to promote histone-lysine N-methyltransferase 2D (KMT2D) ubiquitination and degradation. We further discovered that KMT2D, acting as a non-catalytic scaffold, recruited the transcriptional repressor CCAAT enhancer binding protein beta (CEBPB) to the PD-L1 promoter to maintain its repression. UXS1-mediated KMT2D degradation disrupted this complex, leading to CEBPB dissociation and consequent PD-L1 transcriptional derepression. In vivo, UXS1 suppressed CD8

conclusionThis study defines a novel UXS1-KMT2D-CEBPB-PD-L1 signaling axis, revealing how UXS1 drives immune evasion in HCC via epigenetic reprogramming. Targeting this axis may represent a potential strategy to overcome immune resistance, warranting further clinical investigation.

Indexed as

Carboxy-LyasesCarcinoma, HepatocellularLiver NeoplasmsTumor EscapeAnimalsCell Line, TumorGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMiceCarboxy-LyasesHepatocellular CarcinomaImmunotherapySolid tumor

Identifiers

PMID42419879
PMCPMC13347825

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.