FSTL4 interaction with Gαi proteins activates the Akt-mTOR pathway to drive malignant phenotypes in non-small cell lung cancer
Jiaxin Li, Wanghong Qi, Shansong Gao, Yifei Zhu, Jianhua Zha · 2026
Read FSTL4 interaction with Gαi proteins activates the Akt-mTOR pathway to drive malignant phenotypes in non-small cell lung cancer by Jiaxin Li, Wanghong Qi, Shansong Gao, Yifei Zhu, Jianhua Zha (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/PMC13508297.txt.
Description
Jiaxin Li and four co-authors identify a protein called FSTL4 as a driver of aggressive lung cancer, in work published in 2026. Non-small cell lung cancer remains hard to treat, and fresh drivers are needed as drug targets. Gene data and local tumor samples showed FSTL4 levels run high in cancer tissue compared with normal lung. High levels marked shorter survival on their own.
Turning FSTL4 down in cancer cells slowed growth and movement, stalled the cell cycle, and triggered cell death. Normal lung cells were spared, an encouraging safety sign. Raising FSTL4 had the opposite effect. The protein works through a growth signaling chain and binds helper switch proteins to do so. Blocking the chain erased the effect of silencing in patient cells. In mice, silencing FSTL4 sharply slowed tumor growth, backing it as a treatment target.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Jiaxin Li, Wanghong Qi, Shansong Gao, Yifei Zhu, Jianhua Zha |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 65447 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |