ArticleCell death & disease2018
Alpha-fetoprotein inhibits autophagy to promote malignant behaviour in hepatocellular carcinoma cells by activating PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling.
Article in Cell death & disease, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 77 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
77 citing papers in PubMed, 119 citations in OpenAlex.
- A sequentially activated afterglow probe for AND-gated imaging of alpha-fetoprotein in hepatocellular carcinoma.Bioactive materials · 2027Article
- miR-486-5p suppresses autophagy in hepatocellular carcinoma via activation of the AKT/mTOR signalling pathway.Molecular biomedicine · 2026Article
- AFP Stimulates Glucose Metabolic Reprogramming Contributing to Hepatocellular Carcinoma Resist Sorafenib Through Activating PI3K/AKT Signalling Pathway.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Imaging of pancreatic hepatoid adenocarcinoma: a scoping review.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2026Review
- Targeted Therapy and Immunotherapies in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Mechanisms and Clinical Studies.MedComm · 2026Review
- HBx Promotes Liver Cancer Cells to Escape NK-92 Cell Attack by Mediating ADAM10 to Enzyme Cut MICA/B Shedding From Cancer Cell Membrane.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Large well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with HBV: gadoxetic acid-enhanced MR imaging features and prognosis.European radiology · 2026Article
- AFP confers the resistance of lenvatinib in hepatocellular carcinoma by activating PI3K/AKT/LDHA signaling axis.Discover oncology · 2026Article
- Hypoxia-triggered autophagy modulates cisplatin resistance in non-small cell lung Cancer via EIF2AK3-dependent PI3K/AKT signaling and mTOR-independent mechanisms.Cell death discovery · 2025Article
- AFP promotes cancer multidrug resistance through activating PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- LC/ESI-MS/MS phytochemical profiling and apoptotic effect of Haloxylon scoparium leaf extract on hepatocellular carcinoma.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Roles and Clinical Significance of Major Hepatic-Derived Metabolites in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology · 2025Review
- Alpha fetoprotein (AFP)-producing gastric cancer: clinicopathological features and treatment strategies.Cell & bioscience · 2025Review
- Exploring the Multifunctional Role of Alpha-Fetoprotein in Cancer Progression: Implications for Targeted Therapy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Beyond.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- lncSNHG16 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma development by inhibiting autophagy.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2025Article
- New Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) Primary Cell Cultures as Models for Exploring Personalized Anti-TGF-β Therapies Based on Tumor Characteristics.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Development of Small Interfering RNA Loaded Cationic Lipid Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Liver Cancer with Elevated α-Fetoprotein Expression.ACS bio & med chem Au · 2025Article
- CGR11 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression by regulating autophagy through the PI3K/AKT pathway.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Article
- Dynamic changes in serum alpha-fetoprotein predict prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Therapeutic advances in gastroenterology · 2025Article
- Lenvatinib, sintilimab combined interventional treatmentWorld journal of gastroenterology · 2024Article
17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) has been recognized as a key regulator of cell proliferation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, whether AFP functions in cancer cell autophagy remains unknown. This study investigated the effects of AFP on autophagy in HCC cells. The role of AFP was studied in two HCC cell lines, PLC/PRF/5 and HLE. Cell autophagy, apoptosis, proliferation, migration and invasion were analysed with Western blotting, co-immunoprecipitation (CoIP), immunofluorescence, animal models, MTT assays, flow cytometry (FCM), Cell Counting Kit (CCK)-8, and scratch and transwell assays. In PLC/PRF/5 cells, AFP interacted with PTEN and activated PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling. In HLE cells, overexpressed AFP similarly interacted with PTEN, leading to PI3K/Akt/mTOR activation and reduced cell autophagy. When AFP was silenced in PLC/PRF/5 cells, cell proliferation, tumour growth, migration and invasion were inhibited, and the numbers of S-phase and apoptotic cells were increased. In contrast, AFP overexpression in HLE cells enhanced cell proliferation, migration and invasion and reduced apoptosis. AFP-dependent autophagy, proliferation, migration and apoptosis were inhibited by rapamycin. In summary, AFP plays critical roles in the inhibition of autophagy and apoptosis in HCC cells and promotes proliferation, migration and invasion. The role of AFP in autophagy inhibition in HCC cells may involve the activation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
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.