Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42380149›Full record

ArticleCell death & disease2026

PCGF1-mediated bivalent promoter remodeling enables NK cell immune evasion in non-small cell lung cancer.

Hui Zhou, Hechun Lin, Yiru Kong, Hongyu Pan, Wenjun Chai, Lei Sun, Yu Wang, Mengxi Ge, Xiaoyu Ji, Rongrong Yao and 7 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cell death & disease, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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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

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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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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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

17 authors.

Hui Zhou *Department of Oncology, Huashan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-6025-9354
Hechun Lin *State Key Laboratory of Systems Medicine for Cancer, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Yiru Kong *Department of Oncology, Huashan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Hongyu PanCancer Institute, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China.
Wenjun ChaiCancer Institute, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China.
Lei SunCancer Institute, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China.
Yu WangDepartment of Oncology, Huashan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Mengxi GeDepartment of Oncology, Huashan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Xiaoyu JiDepartment of Oncology, Huashan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Rongrong YaoDepartment of Oncology, Huashan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Qing WangDepartment of Oncology, Huashan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Tao LiuDepartment of Oncology, Huashan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Mingxia YanCancer Institute, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China.
Xiaohua LiangDepartment of Oncology, Huashan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Hong LiState Key Laboratory of Systems Medicine for Cancer, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. hongli@shsci.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5790-1681
Jing LiDepartment of Oncology, Huashan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China. shuixingyixin@126.com.
Xinli ZhouDepartment of Oncology, Huashan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China. zhouxinli@huashan.org.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6081-188X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Precise regulation of the activating H3K4me3 and repressive H3K27me3 histone modifications at bivalent promoters is essential for normal development but is frequently disrupted in cancer. Among the polycomb group (PCGF) family members, which are key components of polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1), PCGF1 emerged as the factor most strongly associated with poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) based on analyses of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort. In lung cancer cells, PCGF1 upregulation enhanced the deposition of H2AK119ub and H3K27me3 at chromatin. These depositions inhibit the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway, especially CCL5, CXCL10, CD40, and FAS. Single-cell RNA sequencing further indicated that PCGF1 acts as a negative regulator of natural killer (NK) cell effector function. When NK cell-derived cytokines attempted to activate the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway in tumor cells, this repressive chromatin state attenuated pathway activation. Consequently, reduced expression of these genes weakened NK cell recruitment and cytotoxic responses. Collectively, this study uncovers a previously unrecognized mechanism by which PCGF1-driven disruption of bivalent promoter balance silences immune signaling cascades, enabling tumor cells to evade NK cell-mediated immunity in NSCLC. These findings highlight bivalent chromatin as a critical regulatory node in tumor immune escape and establish PCGF1 as a promising epigenetic target for immunotherapeutic intervention. PCGF1 promotes immune evasion in NSCLC by suppressing cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway. Upregulation of PCGF1 in NSCLC cells enhances the deposition of the repressive histone modifications H2AK119ub and H3K27me3 while reducing the enrichment of the transcriptionally active histone modification H3K4me3 at target chromatin regions, thereby suppressing cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway. This epigenetic repression reduces the expression of immune-related genes, including CCL5, CXCL10, CD40, and FAS. Consequently, tumor-cell responses to NK cell-derived cytokines are attenuated, leading to impaired NK cell recruitment and cytotoxicity. The schematic diagram was created using BioRender.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell LungImmune EvasionKiller Cells, NaturalLung NeoplasmsPolycomb Repressive Complex 1Promoter Regions, GeneticCell Line, TumorCytokinesGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHistonesHumansCytokinesHistonesPolycomb Repressive Complex 1

Identifiers

PMID42380149
PMCPMC13586340

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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.