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World J Gastrointest Surg. Apr 27, 2026; 18(4): 115798
Published online Apr 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i4.115798
Published online Apr 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i4.115798
T-LAK cell-originated protein kinase promotes tumorigenesis and metastasis of pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms via mitogen-activated protein kinase axis activation
Meng Meng, Qing Chen, Meng Yuan, Si-Qian Ren, Chun-Hui Yuan, Department of General Surgery, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
Xin Guo, Department of Medicine, Honghui Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, Shaanxi Province, China
Co-first authors: Meng Meng and Qing Chen.
Author contributions: Meng M and Chen Q performed experiments, prepared the manuscript, contributed equally to this manuscript and are co-first authors; Meng M, Chen Q, Yuan M, Guo X, Ren SQ, and Yuan CH reviewed experimental progression, interpreted experimental data, reviewed and edited manuscripts; Meng M, Chen Q, and Yuan CH designed and oversaw experiments. All authors reviewed and approved the final version.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81672862; and the National Science and Technology Major Project of China, No. 2025ZD0552411.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethic Committee of Peking University Third Hospital (Approval No. IRB00006761-2016128).
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: All data in this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.
Corresponding author: Chun-Hui Yuan, MD, Department of General Surgery, Peking University Third Hospital, No. 49 Huayuan North Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China. ychdoctor@bjmu.edu.cn
Received: November 21, 2025
Revised: December 19, 2025
Accepted: February 9, 2026
Published online: April 27, 2026
Processing time: 153 Days and 22.2 Hours
Revised: December 19, 2025
Accepted: February 9, 2026
Published online: April 27, 2026
Processing time: 153 Days and 22.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (pNENs) are relatively rare and typically slow growing but may lead to serious health complications. T-LAK cell-derived protein kinase is a serine/threonine kinase originally identified from a cDNA library of lymphokine-activated killer T cells and is overexpressed in multiple malignancies. This study demonstrates that T-LAK cell-derived protein kinase is markedly overexpressed in pNENs tissues with liver metastasis and further clarifies its effects on downstream signaling and the malignant biological behavior of pNENs.