Submit a comment
Abstract
Members of the L6 family of membrane proteins, a branch of the tetraspanin superfamily, are overexpressed in tumor cells from many types of cancers. However, direct evidence of their oncogenic activity has not been previously shown. In this issue of the JCI, Lee et al. demonstrate that overexpression of the tetraspanin superfamily member TM4SF5 in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells causes cellular phenotypic changes that resemble classical descriptions of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), with some unique aspects (see the related article beginning on page 1354). They also show that these TM4SF5-mediated effects trigger tumor formation when these cells are injected into mice. The study implicates TM4SF5, for the first time to our knowledge, in EMT oncogenic pathways of cancer progression.
Authors
Ruth J. Muschel, Annamaria Gal
Guidelines
The Editorial Board will only consider comments that are deemed relevant and of interest to readers. The Journal will not post data that have not been subjected to peer review; or a comment that is essentially a reiteration of another comment.
- Comments appear on the Journal’s website and are linked from the original article’s web page.
- Authors are notified by email if their comments are posted.
- The Journal reserves the right to edit comments for length and clarity.
- No appeals will be considered.
- Comments are not indexed in PubMed.
Specific requirements
- Maximum length, 400 words
- Entered as plain text or HTML
- Author’s name and email address, to be posted with the comment
- Declaration of all potential conflicts of interest (even if these are not ultimately posted); see the Journal’s conflict-of-interest policy
- Comments may not include figures
Copyright © 2025 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)