ReviewNature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology2023
Friend or foe? The elusive role of hepatic stellate cells in liver cancer.
Review in Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 82 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
82 citing papers in PubMed, 128 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hepatic stellate cell subpopulations in human MASLD-related hepatocellular carcinoma upregulate YAP via geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate.Hepatology communications · 2026Article
- The instructive scar - the dynamic role of extracellular matrix in biliary pathophysiology.Disease models & mechanisms · 2026Review
- The extracellular matrix in cancer-associated fibrosis: molecular mechanisms and clinical relevance.JCI insight · 2026Review
- Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Promote Tumor Immunosuppression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma via the NNMT-ANGPTL4 Axis.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- TUFT1 stabilizes TGF-β receptor II protein and facilitates activation of hepatic stellate cells into metastasis-promoting myofibroblasts.Cell death and differentiation · 2026Article
- From Theory to Practice: Which Biomarkers Are Ready for Predicting Response in Advanced HCC?Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2026Review
- S100A6 promotes liver metastasis by activating FGFR3 signaling in BAP1-deficient uveal melanoma.Oncogene · 2026Article
- Mechanisms and therapeutic insights into MASH-associated fibrosis.Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM · 2026Review
- S100A6 Regulated by PATZ1 Promotes Liver Fibrosis by Activating Hepatic Stellate Cells.Digestive diseases and sciences · 2026Article
- ETV4 Promotes Colorectal Cancer Progression by Reprogramming Asparagine Metabolism to Remodel the Stromal Microenvironment.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Residual bile flow shapes PPARγ-mediated antifibrotic responses in experimental segmental cholestasis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Spatial and functional polarization of cancer-associated fibroblasts with CXCR4-mediated immune modulation in hepatocellular carcinoma.Hepatology communications · 2026Article
- Clinical applications of immunogenomics in hepatocellular carcinoma.Clinical and molecular hepatology · 2026Review
- How to efficiently establish animal models of cholangiocarcinoma: challenges and inspiration.Medical review (2021) · 2026Review
- Comprehensive analysis of non-tumor lung, liver, and kidney transcriptomes in canine metastatic osteosarcoma.Communications biology · 2026Article
- <p>Beyond hepatic stellate cell heterogeneity: Resolving fibrosis, restoring regeneration (Review)</p>.International journal of molecular medicine · 2026Review
- p16Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Integrating Transcriptomics and 3D Spheroid Models Reveals Microenvironment-Dependent Purinergic Modulation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Metabolites · 2026Article
- HBV reprograms the tumor microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma: mechanisms and therapeutic implications.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2026Review
22 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Liver fibrosis is a substantial risk factor for the development and progression of liver cancer, which includes hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA). Studies utilizing cell fate mapping and single-cell transcriptomics techniques have identified quiescent perisinusoidal hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) as the primary source of activated collagen-producing HSCs and liver cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in HCC and liver metastasis, complemented in iCCA by contributions from portal fibroblasts. At the same time, integrative computational analysis of single-cell, single-nucleus and spatial RNA sequencing data have revealed marked heterogeneity among HSCs and CAFs, with distinct subpopulations displaying unique gene expression signatures and functions. Some of these subpopulations have divergent roles in promoting or inhibiting liver fibrogenesis and carcinogenesis. In this Review, we discuss the dual roles of HSC subpopulations in liver fibrogenesis and their contribution to liver cancer promotion, progression and metastasis. We review the transcriptomic and functional similarities between HSC and CAF subpopulations, highlighting the pathways that either promote or prevent fibrosis and cancer, and the immunological landscape from which these pathways emerge. Insights from ongoing studies will yield novel strategies for developing biomarkers, assessing prognosis and generating new therapies for both HCC and iCCA prevention and treatment.
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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.