Li MJ, Wen CL, Cheng HT, Lyu HN, Han YY. PANoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma: Underlying mechanisms. World J Hepatol 2025; 17(11): 109051 [DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i11.109051]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Yang-Yang Han, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinjiang Medical University, No. 567 Shangde North Road, Urumqi 830017, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. yyhan@xjmu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Hepatol. Nov 27, 2025; 17(11): 109051 Published online Nov 27, 2025. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i11.109051
PANoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma: Underlying mechanisms
Meng-Jia Li, Chen-Lin Wen, Hai-Tao Cheng, Hao-Nan Lyu, Yang-Yang Han
Meng-Jia Li, Chen-Lin Wen, Hai-Tao Cheng, Hao-Nan Lyu, Yang-Yang Han, Department of Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi 830017, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China
Meng-Jia Li, Yang-Yang Han, Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Endemic Diseases, Xinjiang Medical University, No. 567 Shangde North Road, Urumqi 830017, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China
Co-first authors: Meng-Jia Li and Chen-Lin Wen.
Author contributions: Li MJ, Wen CL, and Han YY designed the overall concept and outline of the manuscript, contributed to the writing and editing of the manuscript and the literature review; Cheng HT and Lyu HN contributed to the discussion and design of the manuscript; Han YY revised the manuscript; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript. Li MJ and Wen CL contributed equally in their efforts to this article, they are the co-first authors of this manuscript and this collaboration was crucial to the study’s performance and completion.
Supported by the Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Endemic Diseases, No. XJDFB2024G02; and National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82260493.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yang-Yang Han, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinjiang Medical University, No. 567 Shangde North Road, Urumqi 830017, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. yyhan@xjmu.edu.cn
Received: April 29, 2025 Revised: June 5, 2025 Accepted: October 11, 2025 Published online: November 27, 2025 Processing time: 212 Days and 19.2 Hours
Abstract
PANoptosis is an inflammatory programmed cell death pathway possessing critical characteristics of apoptosis, pyroptosis, and necroptosis. It is regulated by PANoptosome complexes, involves interaction between these three key programmed cell death pathways, yet is distinct from any alone. PANoptosis holds vital significance in liver-related diseases, particularly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This article summarizes research on the mechanism and treatments of PANoptosis in HCC. Current research has partially elucidated PANoptosis-related mechanisms in HCC and identified several molecules modulating it. Therapeutic strategies targeting PANoptosis hold significant promise. Investigations into these critical molecules have led to the development of traditional targeted drug therapies and emerging strategies like nanotechnology-based immunocombination therapies. However, there are still challenges in the mechanistic and pharmacological studies of PANoptosis in HCC, including the bidirectional regulation of key apoptotic factors, specific molecular mechanisms, and preclinical models. This article offers a new orientation for studying the pathogenesis and potential therapeutic strategies for HCC.
Core Tip: This article summarizes the specific mechanisms of PANoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and explores potential therapeutic strategies, highlighting the promise of targeting PANoptosis for HCC treatment. While modulating PANoptosis in liver cancer cells can influence tumor progression, excessive activation of PANoptosis can trigger an inflammatory storm. We summarize current research on the mechanisms and therapies related to PANoptosis in HCC, aiming to provide possible treatment strategies for the disease.
