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World J Gastroenterol. Dec 21, 2026; 32(47): 122668
Published online Dec 21, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.122668
Published online Dec 21, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.122668
Zfp36 zinc finger CCCH-type inhibits gastric cancer progression by upregulating lipase G and binding its 3’ untranslated region
Peng-Jie Yu, Sheng-Mao Zhu, Bao-Jia Cai, Xiao-Ming Ma, Wen-Jie Qiao, Jing-Jun Han, Cheng-Wu Zhang, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology Surgery, Qinghai University Affiliated Hospital (School of Clinical Medicine), Xining 810001, Qinghai Province, China
Author contributions: Yu PJ and Zhu SM contributed to conceptualization; Zhu SM, Qiao WJ, and Han JJ contributed to methodology and investigation; Yu PJ contributed to editing, supervision, resources, and project administration; Zhu SM contributed to writing-original draft and data curation; Cai BJ and Ma XM contributed to visualization and validation; Qiao WJ and Han JJ contributed to cell culture, in vitro experiments, in vivo experiments, software, and formal analysis; Zhang CW contributed to guidance, advisor, and decision making as corresponding author. All authors approved the final version to publish.
AI contribution statement: Portions of this manuscript were edited using AI tools solely for language refinement.
Supported by Qinghai Provincial Department of Science and Technology, No. 2023-ZJ-787.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: The study was approved by the Scientific Research Ethics Committee of The Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University, No. P-SL-2023186.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Data sharing statement: Raw and processed RNA sequencing and improved RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing data can be found in the ArrayExpress database under the following accession numbers: E-MTAB-16188, E-MTAB-16200.
Corresponding author: Cheng-Wu Zhang, Professor, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology Surgery, Qinghai University Affiliated Hospital (School of Clinical Medicine), No. 29 Tongren Road, Chengdong District, Xining 810001, Qinghai Province, China. 952068360@qq.com
Received: April 27, 2026
Revised: June 26, 2026
Accepted: July 28, 2026
Published online: December 21, 2026
Processing time: 185 Days and 22 Hours
Revised: June 26, 2026
Accepted: July 28, 2026
Published online: December 21, 2026
Processing time: 185 Days and 22 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Zfp36 zinc finger CCCH-type (ZFP36), an RNA-binding protein, has an unclear role in gastric cancer. Here, ZFP36 overexpression in AGS cells suppressed proliferation, migration, and invasion, as well as G0/G1-phase arrest and apoptosis induction, while also inhibiting xenograft tumor growth. Integrated RNA sequencing and improved RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing identified lipase G (LIPG) as a direct target, with ZFP36 binding to its 3’ untranslated region to enhance LIPG expression. In vivo, LIPG was upregulated in ZFP36-overexpressing tumors. These findings demonstrate that ZFP36 inhibits gastric cancer progression by upregulating LIPG, revealing a potential therapeutic axis.