Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41100671›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2025

TMEM16F phospholipid scramblase regulates tumorigenesis by modulating the tumor immune microenvironment.

Menghan Wu, Peishang Shi, Jianmin Huang, Xiaomin Ni, Ruijia Lai, Kun Cao, Mengya Cai, Hao Yu, Wenshan Zhao, Yang Zhang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Tumor cell intrinsic mechanisms of immune escape.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2026
    Review
  5. TMEM16F phospholipid scramblase regulates tumorigenesis by modulating the tumor immune microenvironment.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
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.

Menghan Wu *Institute of Molecular Physiology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518107, Guangdong, China.
Peishang Shi *Institute of Molecular Physiology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518107, Guangdong, China.
Jianmin HuangInstitute of Molecular Physiology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518107, Guangdong, China.ORCID 0009-0006-7981-8826
Xiaomin NiInstitute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
Ruijia LaiInstitute of Molecular Physiology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518107, Guangdong, China.ORCID 0009-0000-9157-0698
Kun CaoInstitute of Molecular Physiology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518107, Guangdong, China.ORCID 0009-0002-9515-1284
Mengya CaiInstitute of Molecular Physiology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518107, Guangdong, China.
Hao YuInstitute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.ORCID 0000-0003-2793-7912
Wenshan ZhaoSchool of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.ORCID 0000-0002-8018-5978
Yang ZhangInstitute of Molecular Physiology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518107, Guangdong, China.ORCID 0000-0003-3625-9965

Funding

Guangdong Pearl River Program 2023QN10Y164Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province 242301420078Science and Technology special fund of Hainan Province ZDYF2024SHFZ045Shenzhen Fundamental Research Program JCYJ20220530154407017The Major Program of Shenzhen Bay Laboratory N.A.The National Natural Science Foundation of China 32300603
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment enables immune evasion through mechanisms beyond canonical immune checkpoints. While phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization coordinates apoptotic clearance under physiological conditions, tumors hijack this mechanism through apoptotic mimicry to subvert antitumor immunity. Here, we identify TMEM16F, a calcium-activated phospholipid scramblase, as a driver of tumor-intrinsic PS externalization. TMEM16F-mediated PS scrambling polarized macrophages to an immunosuppressive M2 phenotype, which promotes TGF-β1 secretion and regulatory T cell expansion to suppress cytotoxic lymphocytes. Genetic ablation of TMEM16F abolished PS exposure, systemically reprogrammed the tumor microenvironment and primary immune organs toward immune activation, and suppressed tumor growth across cancer models. Pharmacological scramblase inhibition produced these effects, demonstrating therapeutic potential. Our findings establish TMEM16F-dependent phospholipid scrambling as a critical immune evasion axis and propose targeting this pathway for cancer treatment.

Indexed as

AnoctaminsCarcinogenesisNeoplasmsPhospholipid Transfer ProteinsTumor MicroenvironmentAnimalsCell Line, TumorHumansMacrophagesMiceMice, Inbred C57BLPhosphatidylserinesT-Lymphocytes, RegulatoryTransforming Growth Factor beta1ANO6 protein, mouseAnoctaminsPhosphatidylserinesPhospholipid Transfer ProteinsTransforming Growth Factor beta1phosphatidylserine exposurephospholipid scramblaseTMEM16Ftumor immune microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID41100671
PMCPMC12557541

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.