{
  "abstract": "Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a global health challenge with high mortality rates, particularly in patients with advanced disease and lung metastasis. T-cell receptor (TCR)-T cell therapy based on specific neoantigens, is an emerging treatment with potential for HCC. However, the prognosis of patients remains poor, underscoring the need for novel targets and strategies.Methods We conducted a comprehensive study to investigate the role of C7orf50 and its neoantigens in HCC. We evaluated the functional impact on HCC progression and metastasis in vitro and in vivo, and further explored the mechanism by which C7orf50 promotes cancer metastasis and remodels tumor immune environment. Using exome and transcriptome sequencing, we identified neoantigens associated with C7orf50 and assessed their potential in TCR-T therapy.Results Our in vitro experiments revealed that C7orf50 overexpression enhances HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while knockdown inhibits these processes. In vivo, C7orf50 promoted tumor growth and lung metastasis, with a significant correlation between C7orf50 expression and poor clinical outcomes in patients with HCC. We further demonstrated that C7orf50 activates the NF-κB/PAI-1 pathway by binding to AEG-1 and facilitating its nuclear translocation, thereby promoting tumor-associated macrophage recruitment. Meanwhile, we found that TCR-T from C7orf50-related neoantigen could obviously realize the killing effect on HCC cells, revealing its great role in cell therapy.Conclusion C7orf50 is a critical mediator of HCC progression and lung metastasis, acting through the NF-κB/PAI-1 pathway and AEG-1. Its expression levels, along with those of PAI-1 and CD68, serve as independent prognostic markers. And C7orf50-related neoantigen shows great application potential in TCR-T therapy. These findings provide a foundation for developing C7orf50-targeted therapies and highlight its potential in precision medicine and immunotherapy for HCC.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion, Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China",
        "Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Medical School Affiliated Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai, China"
      ],
      "name": "Jia Li"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion, Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China"
      ],
      "name": "Xinming Ye"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion, Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China"
      ],
      "name": "Sheng Su"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion, Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China"
      ],
      "name": "Zhiqiang Hu"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion, Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China"
      ],
      "name": "Changzhou Chen"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion, Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China"
      ],
      "name": "Yu Gong"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion, Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China"
      ],
      "name": "Zehuan Li"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Oncology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Medical School Affiliated Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai, China"
      ],
      "name": "Feng Qi"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Medical School Affiliated Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai, China"
      ],
      "name": "Hecheng Li"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion, Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China"
      ],
      "name": "Li Mao"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion, Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China"
      ],
      "name": "Xiaowu Huang"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Tumor neoantigen gene C7orf50 remodels the immune microenvironment by recruiting tumor-associated macrophages to promote hepatocellular carcinoma progression and lung metastasis",
  "uid": "11b7e844-a907-5ebd-b146-88191371aaca"
}