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World J Gastroenterol. Jan 7, 2027; 33(1): 123490
Published online Jan 7, 2027. doi: 10.3748/wjg.123490
Published online Jan 7, 2027. doi: 10.3748/wjg.123490
Identification of UPB1 as a tumor suppressor associated with immune infiltration in cholangiocarcinoma
Zhong-Hai Sun, Department of General Surgery, Sanshui Hospital, Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Foshan 528000, Guangdong Province, China
Bi-Cheng Zeng, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University (Dongguan Eastern Central Hospital), Dongguan 523000, Guangdong Province, China
Jia Sun, Bing-Lu Li, Department of General Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China
Zu-Yi Ma, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong, China
Co-first authors: Zhong-Hai Sun and Bi-Cheng Zeng.
Co-corresponding authors: Bing-Lu Li and Zu-Yi Ma.
Author contributions: Sun ZH and Zeng BC contributed to conceptualization, methodology, original draft preparation, review and editing; Sun J contributed to data curation, visualization, investigation; Li BL and Ma ZY contributed to conceptualization, reviewing and editing, project administration, funding acquisition; Sun ZH and Zeng BC contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first authors; Li BL and Ma ZY contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-corresponding authors; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: The authors declare that no AI tools were used in the development or writing of this manuscript and take full responsibility for its integrity, accuracy, and originality.
Supported by Scientific Research Promotion Program for Clinical Medicine, No. 2025CMFA08; Beijing Bethune Charitable Foundation, No. GDZL040; the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, No. GZC20251430; and Sun Yat-sen Pilot Scientific Research Fund, No. YXQH202608.
Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by the Ethics Association of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (approval No. I-23PJ274).
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: All procedures involving animals were reviewed and approved by the Animal Welfare and Ethics Committee of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (approval No. XHDW-2024-32).
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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: RNA-sequencing data can be downloaded from TCGA (https://portal.gdc.cancer.gov/repository) and GEO (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/). Other data that support the findings including technical appendix, statistical code, and dataset are available from the corresponding author at 13076335286@163.com upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Zu-Yi Ma, MD, Doctor, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, No. 107 Yanjiang West Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, China. 13076335286@163.com
Received: May 20, 2026
Revised: June 15, 2026
Accepted: July 2, 2026
Published online: January 7, 2027
Processing time: 173 Days and 19.7 Hours
Revised: June 15, 2026
Accepted: July 2, 2026
Published online: January 7, 2027
Processing time: 173 Days and 19.7 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study identifies UPB1 as a tumor-suppressor in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). The expression of UPB1 is downregulated in CCA and correlates with adverse clinical features and worse survival. UPB1 overexpression enhances cell apoptosis and triggers G1/S phase arrest. UPB1 expression shows a positive correlation with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, and UPB1 overexpression promotes T-cell activation and immune factor release. UPB1 represents a novel prognostic biomarker and a candidate for further investigation in CCA.