ArticleOncology letters2026
Exosomal microRNA-448 suppresses the malignant behaviors of liver cancer cells by targeting RAB7A and inhibiting glycolysis.
Article in Oncology letters, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Liver cancer is a highly aggressive cancer and the regulatory roles of microRNAs (miRs) in its progression are still being explored. miR-448, which is implicated in several types of cancer, remains to be fully characterized in liver cancer, particularly regarding its presence in exosomes. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of exosomal miR-448 (EXO-miR-448) on liver cancer cell behavior. The expression levels of miR-448 in human liver cancer cell lines and its localization in exosomes were analyzed using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR, transmission electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking analysis, with western blotting performed to detect exosomal markers. Functional assays were conducted to assess the effects of EXO-miR-448 on cell proliferation, migration and invasion. The results demonstrated that miR-448 expression was significantly downregulated in human liver cancer cell lines (HepG2, Hep3B and SK-HEP-1) compared with that in normal liver cells. Furthermore, exosomal analysis confirmed that miR-448 was enriched within exosomes rather than being secreted into the supernatant. EXO-miR-448 also inhibited liver cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion, as demonstrated using Cell Counting Kit-8 and Transwell assays. Bioinformatics and functional assays further identified Ras-related protein Rab-7a (RAB7A) as a direct downstream target of miR-448, with its overexpression rescuing the inhibitory effects of EXO-miR-448 on cell behavior. Furthermore, EXO-miR-448 suppressed glycolysis in liver cancer cells by targeting RAB7A, as indicated by reduced lactate production, glucose uptake, ATP levels and extracellular acidification rate. In conclusion, EXO-miR-448 inhibits liver cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion and glycolysis by targeting RAB7A. These findings underscore the importance of miR-448 in liver cancer biology and support its further evaluation in future translational studies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.