{"doi":"10.1111/jgh.16538","title":"Novel protein C6ORF120 promotes liver fibrosis by activating hepatic stellate cells through the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway","abstract":"Abstract Background and Aim The role of C6ORF120 in promoting CCL4‐induced hepatic fibrosis and its possible mechanisms were explored in C6orf120 knockout rats ( C6orf120 −/− ) and LX‐2 cells (a type of human hepatic stellate cell line). Methods In vivo experiments, wild‐type and C6orf120 −/− rats were used to investigate the function of C6ORF120. In the in vitro experiments, C6ORF120 recombinant protein (rC6ORF120) at a concentration of 200 ng/mL was used to stimulate LX‐2 cells. Sirius Red staining, Masson staining, western blotting, polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence were used to explore fibrosis‐associated factors. Results C6orf120 −/− rats showed mild fibrosis and liver injury in the CCL4‐induced liver fibrosis model. Furthermore, RNA‐seq revealed that C6orf120 −/− rats had less extracellular matrix deposition and activated stellate cells. Consistent with the in vivo, the rC6ORF120 induced LX‐2 cell activation. Moreover, mechanistic studies revealed that the p‐PI3K/PI3K, p‐Akt/Akt, and p‐mTOR/mTOR levels were significantly elevated and LY294002 (a PI3K/Akt/mTOR typical pathway inhibitor) reversed the function of C6ORF120 in activating LX‐2 cells. Conclusion C6ORF120 could activate hepatic stellate cells and promote hepatic fibrosis via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.","journal":"Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology","year":2024,"id":436409,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":11,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9626,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2024-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1244484,"name":"Hui Liu","orcid":"0000-0003-3773-174X","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1244485,"name":"Yuqi Wang","orcid":"0000-0002-6846-6603","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":509605,"name":"Peng Wang","orcid":"0000-0002-8838-682X","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1244486,"name":"Yunyun Yi","orcid":"0009-0006-4873-0119","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1244487,"name":"Yingying Lin","orcid":"0000-0002-6935-5681","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1244488,"name":"Xin Li","orcid":"0000-0002-9637-6090","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1244483,"name":"Xin Wang","orcid":"0009-0000-3053-1994","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":56,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:00:12.706156Z","pmid":"38523410","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}