Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41784732›Full record

ArticleApoptosis : an international journal on programmed cell death2026

COL8A1-positive cancer-associated fibroblasts are drivers of 5-fluorouracil resistance in colorectal cancer.

Muzi Ding, Yue Li, Zixuan Liu, Shangshang Hu, Jinwei Lou, Yuhan Chen, Jian Qin, Mu Xu, Huiling Sun, Tao Xu and 2 more

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Apoptosis : an international journal on programmed cell death, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

12 authors.

Muzi Ding *General Clinical Research Center, Nanjing First Hospital, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China.
Yue Li *General Clinical Research Center, Nanjing First Hospital, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China.
Zixuan LiuGeneral Clinical Research Center, Nanjing First Hospital, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China.
Shangshang HuGeneral Clinical Research Center, Nanjing First Hospital, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China.
Jinwei LouGeneral Clinical Research Center, Nanjing First Hospital, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China.
Yuhan ChenGeneral Clinical Research Center, Nanjing First Hospital, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China.
Jian QinGeneral Clinical Research Center, Nanjing First Hospital, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China.
Mu XuGeneral Clinical Research Center, Nanjing First Hospital, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China.
Huiling SunGeneral Clinical Research Center, Nanjing First Hospital, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China.
Tao XuGeneral Clinical Research Center, Nanjing First Hospital, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China.
Shukui WangGeneral Clinical Research Center, Nanjing First Hospital, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China. sk_wang@njmu.edu.cn.
Yuqin PanGeneral Clinical Research Center, Nanjing First Hospital, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China. panyuqin01@163.com.

Funding

Industry-University-Research Innovation Fund for Chinese Universities -digital health project 2023GY014Jiangsu Provincial Medical Key Discipline Cultivation Unit JSDW202239Key Project of Science and Technology Development of Nanjing Medicine YKK24130Specialized Cohort Research Project of Nanjing Medical University NMUC2020035, NMUC2021013AThis work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China 82272629
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Acquired resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) curtails the survival benefit of chemotherapy in colorectal cancer (CRC). We asked whether a discrete subset of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) drives this phenotype. Multi-omic profiling of 24 CRC cohorts identified 10 collagen genes linked to poor outcome and 5-FU resistance; single-cell RNA-seq localized them to specific CAFs. Cellular communication modelling, in vitro proliferation, migration, apoptosis, and drug-sensitivity assays, together with CRISPR/Cas9 and siRNA perturbations, xenografts, and immunochemical analyses, examined the functional relevance of COL8A1-positive fibroblasts (COL8A1⁺Fibs) and their downstream signalling pathways. COL8A1⁺Fibs were enriched in advanced tumors and preferentially interacted with 5-FU-resistant malignant cells. Conditioned media from COL8A1⁺Fibs accelerated CRC cell growth, invasion, and 5-FU tolerance, and activated an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) programme. Secreted COL8A1 engaged integrin-β1 (ITGB1) on tumor cells; silencing ITGB1 or COL8A1 abrogated EMT induction, reduced proliferation, and restored 5-FU sensitivity in vitro and in vivo. COL8A1⁺Fibs orchestrate 5-FU resistance in CRC via a COL8A1/ITGB1-mediated EMT axis. Disrupting this stromal-tumor crosstalk represents a promising therapeutic strategy to overcome chemoresistance.

Indexed as

Antimetabolites, AntineoplasticCancer-Associated FibroblastsCollagen Type VIIIColorectal NeoplasmsDrug Resistance, NeoplasmFluorouracilAnimalsApoptosisCell Line, TumorCell MovementCell ProliferationEpithelial-Mesenchymal TransitionGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansIntegrin beta1MiceAntimetabolites, AntineoplasticCollagen Type VIIIFluorouracilIntegrin beta15-fluorouracil resistanceCancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs)COL8A1Colorectal cancer (CRC)

Identifiers

PMID41784732

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.