PTM-Related Signatures Predict Lymph Node Metastasis and Shape Microenvironment in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Single-Cell and Bulk Integrated Analysis
Zhu Ai, Yuying Liang, Yuzhi Cai, Jian Gao, Lin Ren, Qiong Wang, Yutong Chen, Yongye Huang, Zhiming Xiang · 2026
Read PTM-Related Signatures Predict Lymph Node Metastasis and Shape Microenvironment in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Single-Cell and Bulk Integrated Analysis by Zhu Ai, Yuying Liang, Yuzhi Cai, Jian Gao, Lin Ren, Qiong Wang, Yutong Chen, Yongye Huang, Zhiming Xiang (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13429118.txt.
Description
Ai and colleagues mined in 2026 gene data to predict lymph node spread in liver cancer and to read how it reshapes the tumor's surroundings. They combined single-cell and bulk gene data from public cohorts, hunting genes tied to post-translational modifications, the chemical edits made to proteins after they are built. Candidate genes passed survival screens and fed a machine learning risk model.
Ai landed on five candidates, and two, PJA1 and RFPL4B, stood out as risk markers. Patients classed high-risk lived shorter, carried more mutations, and showed strongly altered tumor surroundings. One marker's level fell as normal liver cell share rose. Cell trajectory analysis suggested spread-linked liver cells stall early in their maturation, with scrambled activity of the switches that guide them. The authors present the pair as candidate guides for prognosis, while noting the work is computational and needs wet-lab proof.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Zhu Ai, Yuying Liang, Yuzhi Cai, Jian Gao, Lin Ren, Qiong Wang, Yutong Chen, Yongye Huang, Zhiming Xiang |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 72 KB |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |