Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40066780›Full record

ArticleChinese medical journal2025

Tissue-resident peripheral helper T cells foster hepatocellular carcinoma immune evasion by promoting regulatory B-cell expansion.

Haoyuan Yu, Mengchen Shi, Xuejiao Li, Zhixing Liang, Kun Li, Yongwei Hu, Siqi Li, Mingshen Zhang, Yang Yang, Yang Li and 1 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Chinese medical journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing 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

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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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

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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

11 authors.

Haoyuan YuDepartment of Hepatic Surgery and Liver Transplantation Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, China.
Mengchen ShiDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510655, China.
Xuejiao LiGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, China.
Zhixing LiangDepartment of Hepatic Surgery and Liver Transplantation Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, China.
Kun LiDepartment of Hepatic Surgery and Liver Transplantation Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, China.
Yongwei HuDepartment of Hepatic Surgery and Liver Transplantation Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, China.
Siqi LiDepartment of Hepatic Surgery and Liver Transplantation Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, China.
Mingshen ZhangDepartment of Hepatic Surgery and Liver Transplantation Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, China.
Yang YangDepartment of Hepatic Surgery and Liver Transplantation Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, China.
Yang LiDepartment of Hepatic Surgery and Liver Transplantation Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, China.
Linsen YeDepartment of Hepatic Surgery and Liver Transplantation Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPeripheral helper T (T PH ) cells are uniquely positioned within pathologically inflamed non-lymphoid tissues to stimulate B-cell responses and antibody production. However, the phenotype, function, and clinical relevance of T PH cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are currently unknown.

methodsBlood, tumor, and peritumoral liver tissue samples from 39 HCC patients (Sep 2016-Aug 2017) and 101 HCC patients (Sep 2011-Dec 2012) at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University were used. Flow cytometry was used to quantify the expression, phenotype, and function of T PH cells. Log-rank tests were performed to evaluate disease-free survival and overall survival in samples from 39 patients and 101 patients with HCC. T PH cells, CD19 + B cells, and T follicular helper (T FH ) cells were cultured separately in vitro or isolated from C57/B6L mice in vivo for functional assays.

resultsT PH cells highly infiltrated tumor tissues, which was correlated with tumor size, early recurrence, and shorter survival time. The tumor-infiltrated T PH cells showed a unique ICOS hi CXCL13 + IL-21 - MAF + BCL-6 - phenotype and triggered naïve B-cell differentiation into regulatory B cells. Triggering programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) induced the production of C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13) by T PH cells, which then suppressed tumor-specific immunity and promoted disease progression.

conclusionOur study reveals a novel regulatory mechanism of T PH cell-regulatory B-cell-mediated immunosuppression and provides an important perspective for determining the balance between the differentiation of protumorigenic T PH cells and that of antitumorigenic T FH cells in the HCC microenvironment.

Indexed as

B-Lymphocytes, RegulatoryCarcinoma, HepatocellularLiver NeoplasmsT-Lymphocytes, Helper-InducerAgedAnimalsChemokine CXCL13FemaleFlow CytometryHumansInterleukin-21MaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMiddle AgedChemokine CXCL13Interleukin-21Hepatocellular carcinomaImmune escapePeripheral helper T cellsRegulatory B cells

Identifiers

PMID40066780
PMCPMC12407171

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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.