ArticleTranslational cancer research2026
Transmembrane protein 9 as a novel biomarker promotes oral squamous cell carcinoma growth via IL1RN and serves as an immune therapeutic target.
Article in Translational cancer research, 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
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: The involvement of transmembrane protein 9 (TMEM9) in various malignancies has been documented; nonetheless, its exact function and mechanistic involvement in the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) are still not well understood. The objective of this study is to shed light on the clinical relevance, tumor-promoting functions, and molecular pathways of TMEM9 in OSCC development. Methods: Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases were used to analyze TMEM9 expression and its associations with prognosis and clinicopathological features, with immunohistochemistry (IHC) used for validation. The functional roles of TMEM9 in OSCC cell lines (CAL-27 and TCA8113) were assessed via small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown, followed by assays including 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), colony formation, Acridine Orange/Ethidium Bromide (AO/EB) staining, and transwell assays. Gene Ontology (GO)/Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, Mendelian randomization (MR), and correlation studies were used to identify downstream targets and pathways. The infiltration of immune cells was assessed through single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) and the Tumor IMmune Estimation Resource (TIMER) algorithms. Results: TMEM9 expression was significantly elevated in OSCC tissues compared to normal controls and was linked to advanced T stage, higher histologic grade, smoking habits, and reduced 5-year overall survival. The suppression of TMEM9 caused a reduction in OSCC cell proliferation, migration, and colony formation, and it also promoted apoptosis. Mechanistically, TMEM9 was found to negatively regulate interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL1RN), and silencing IL1RN partially mitigated the anti-tumor effects observed with TMEM9 knockdown. TMEM9 expression showed negative correlations with tumor-infiltrating immune cells (e.g., neutrophils, CD8⁺ T cells, dendritic cells) and positive correlations with programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and chemokines (CXCR4 and CCL25). Conclusions: TMEM9 functions as an oncogene in OSCC by inhibiting IL1RN regulating tumor progression and fostering an immunosuppressive microenvironment. This indicates a possible prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for OSCC.
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.