Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29511600›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of cancer research2018

Cancer-associated fibroblasts promote stem cell-like properties of hepatocellular carcinoma cells through IL-6/STAT3/Notch signaling.

Si Xiong, Ronghua Wang, Qian Chen, Jing Luo, Jinlin Wang, Zhenxiong Zhao, Yawen Li, Yun Wang, Xiju Wang, Bin Cheng

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of cancer research, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 102 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
102citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.3field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
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

102 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 123 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Understanding how hypoxia contributes to liver cancer stem cells maintenance.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. The metabolic profiles of cancer stem cells.Stem cell research & therapy · 2026
    Review
  6. Targeting Tumor-Associated Macrophages and Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts to Overcome Therapeutic Resistance in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 2026
    Review
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Current research of the Notch pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma.European journal of medical research · 2025
    Review
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Review

42 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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 at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Si XiongDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhan 430030, PR China.
Ronghua WangDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhan 430030, PR China.
Qian ChenDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhan 430030, PR China.
Jing LuoDepartment of Emergency, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhan 430030, PR China.
Jinlin WangDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhan 430030, PR China.
Zhenxiong ZhaoDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhan 430030, PR China.
Yawen LiDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhan 430030, PR China.
Yun WangDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhan 430030, PR China.
Xiju WangDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhan 430030, PR China.
Bin ChengDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhan 430030, PR China.
Huazhong University of Science and Technology · CNTongji Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the role of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. We showed that CAFs secrete high levels of IL-6, which promoted stem cell-like properties in HCC cells by activating Notch signaling through STAT3 Tyr705 phosphorylation. These effects were abolished by Notch1 shRNA knockdown in HCC cells or treatment with an IL-6 neutralizing antibody or the p-STAT3 (Tyr705) inhibitor cryptotanshinone. Xenografted liver tumors were larger in nude mice injected with HCC cells and CAFs than in those receiving HCC cells alone. Moreover, immunohistochemical analysis of liver tissue specimens from 88 HCC patients revealed that high nuclear Notch intracellular domain (nNICD) levels in HCC cells correlated with poor prognosis in patients. These findings suggest that IL-6 secreted by CAFs promotes stem cell-like properties in HCC cells by enhancing STAT3/Notch signaling.

Indexed as

Cancer-associated fibroblastscancer stem cellshepatocellular carcinomaIL-6notch signaling

Identifiers

PMID29511600
PMCPMC5835697
OpenAlexW2978231801

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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 OpenQuestion graph.