Expression of tensin 4 in hepatocellular carcinoma and its role in epithelial-mesenchymal transformation

doi:10.4251/wjgo.123710

Advanced Search

BPG is committed to discovery and dissemination of knowledge

Home / Archive / Volume 18, Issue 8

This Article

(0)

Peer-Review Report of This Article

CrossCheck and Google Search of This Article

Academic Rules and Norms of This Article

Supplementary Materials of This Article

Citation of this article

Corresponding Author of This Article

Research Domain of This Article

Article-Type of This Article

Open-Access Policy of This Article

Times Cited Counts in Google of This Article

Journal Information of This Article

Publication Name

World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology

ISSN

1948-5204

Publisher of This Article

Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA

Basic Study

Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.

World J Gastrointest Oncol. Aug 15, 2026; 18(8): 123710
Published online Aug 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.123710

Expression of tensin 4 in hepatocellular carcinoma and its role in epithelial-mesenchymal transformation

Guo-Li Chen, Jian-Hua Liu

Guo-Li Chen, Jian-Hua Liu, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China

Guo-Li Chen, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College, Chengde 067000, Hebei Province, China

Author contributions: Chen GL wrote the initial manuscript, and performed the research; Liu JH reviewed the manuscript, played an important role in the manuscript preparation; Chen GL and Liu JH designed the research study; all of the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.

AI contribution statement: Portions of this manuscript were edited using AI tools solely for language refinement. The authors carefully reviewed and verified all AI-assisted outputs and take full responsibility for the scientific content of the manuscript.

Institutional review board statement: The Ethics Committee of Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College granted approval for this study (No. CYFYLL2017329).

Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.

Data sharing statement: Technical appendix, statistical code, and dataset available from the first author at cgl0620@126.com. Participants gave informed consent for data sharing.

Corresponding author: Jian Hua Liu, Chief Physician, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, No. 215 West Heping Road, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China. 26300372@hebmu.edu.cn

Received: May 27, 2026
Revised: July 4, 2026
Accepted: July 31, 2026
Published online: August 15, 2026
Processing time: 72 Days and 19.3 Hours

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Tensin (TNS) 4, also known as C-terminal TNS-like, is a unique oncogenic member of the TNS family that lacks the N-terminal actin-binding domain and acts as a critical signal amplifier rather than a structural scaffold.

AIM

To investigate the expression of TNS4 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and HepG2 and PLC cells, and its role in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

METHODS

HCC and paired paracancerous tissues were collected from April 2015 to October 2017. TNS4 expression was assessed via immunohistochemistry and western blotting. Its correlation with clinicopathological features was analyzed, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were constructed. Adeno-associated virus 8 vectors carrying TNS4- or Slug-specific shRNA were generated and used to transfect HepG2 and PLC cells. Western blotting was performed to evaluate TNS4, Slug, EMT markers, and transforming growth factor-β1/Smad pathway proteins. Cell proliferation was measured by Cell counting kit-8 assay, while Transwell and wound healing assays were used to assess invasion and migration.

RESULTS

Expression of TNS4 in HCC tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues (P < 0.05). The tumor-free and overall survival rates of patients with high TNS4 expression were significantly lower than those of patients with low TNS4 expression (P < 0.05). Overexpression of TNS4 promoted EMT in HepG2 and PLC cells. Silencing TNS4 downregulated expression of Slug, p-smad2 and p-smad3; reversed EMT; and inhibited proliferation, invasiveness and metastasis of hepatoma cells (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

High expression of TNS4 is closely related to poor prognosis in patients with HCC. TNS4 may affect Slug expression and regulate EMT through the transforming growth factor-β1/Smad pathway, and promote HCC proliferation and migration.

Keywords: Tensin4; C-terminal tensin-like; Slug; Hepatocellular carcinoma; HepG2 cells; PLC cells; Transforming growth factor-β1; Epithelial-mesenchymal transformation

Core Tip: This study showed that tensin (TNS) 4 was highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and correlated with poor prognosis. TNS4 may regulate Slug expression to mediate epithelial-mesenchymal transition via the transforming growth factor-β1/Smad signaling pathway, promoting proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells. TNS4 is expected to be a novel therapeutic target for HCC and merits further in-depth research.