ArticleJournal of cellular and molecular medicine2026
Alpha-Fetoprotein Stimulates Cleavage of Membranal MICA/B on Liver Cancer Cell Lead to Escape Immune Surveillance of Natural Killer Cells.
Article in Journal of cellular and molecular medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Targeting the MICA/B-NKG2D axis in cancer: from molecular structure to immunotherapeutic strategies-a narrative review.Translational cancer research · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) could escape immune surveillance. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) serves as a significant biomarker for HCC; however, its influence on HCC immune surveillance remains elusive. RNA-Seq data of HCC were obtained from TCGA and GEO databases for the expression of AFP, MICA/B, and related genes. Immunohistochemistry for protein detection in tissues; the expression of target proteins was detected by Western blotting; membrane protein expression and cytotoxicity assessment were analysed by flow cytometry; protein localization was observed by immunofluorescence, cytokine levels were detected by ELISA; mRNA quantification was analysed by qRT-PCR, cell proliferation was measured by CCK-8, animal experiments were applied to observe immune response, and cytotoxicity assays were used to evaluate the killing effect of natural killer-92 (NK-92) cells. Results indicated that in both databases and patient tissues, AFP and MICA/B were highly expressed in the HCC tissues. AFP inhibits the membrane level of MICA/B in HCC cells and promotes the shedding of MICA/B by upregulating MMP9 expression via activation of the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway. Furthermore, AFP suppressed NK-92 cells from attacking HCC cells and restricted the release of cytokines by NK-92 cells, whereas interference with AFP had opposite effects. This finding indicated that AFP stimulated the cleavage of membrane MICA/B in HCC cells, increased the content of soluble MICA/B, and blocked the interaction between MICA/B and NKG2D, which may be involved in the upregulation of MMP9 expression via activation of the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway. These effects inhibited the activation of NK-92 cells, causing HCC cells to escape attack by NK-92 cells.
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Registered trials
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