{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nRecent investigations in human gastric cancer have revealed that MFSD4A may function as a suppressor of tumor metastasis. In gastric cancer cell lines and patient tissues, lower expression of MFSD4A—often mediated by promoter hypermethylation—correlates with enhanced cellular invasiveness and motility, without affecting proliferation or apoptosis. Importantly, reduced MFSD4A mRNA levels in primary tumors were independently associated with an increased risk of hepatic metastasis and recurrence, suggesting its potential role as a biomarker for aggressive disease behavior and metastatic potential."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n\n"}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nConcurrently, MFSD4A has been characterized from a different perspective as an atypical or “orphan” transporter belonging to the major facilitator superfamily. Structural analyses predict that it possesses 12 transmembrane domains, which likely fold into a transporter-shaped assembly. Immunohistochemical studies in mouse brain localize MFSD4A predominantly to neurons, and its transcriptional levels are modulated in response to changes in dietary intake, indicating that MFSD4A might play an integral role in the regulation of energy balance or food-related signaling pathways."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n"}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mitsuro Kanda, Dai Shimizu, Haruyoshi Tanaka, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Metastatic pathway-specific transcriptome analysis identifies MFSD4 as a putative tumor suppressor and biomarker for hepatic metastasis in patients with gastric cancer."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Oncotarget (2016)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.18632/oncotarget.7269"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.7269"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "26872374"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26872374"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Emelie Perland, Sofie V Hellsten, Nadine Schweizer, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Structural prediction of two novel human atypical SLC transporters, MFSD4A and MFSD9, and their neuroanatomical distribution in mice."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "PLoS One (2017)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1371/journal.pone.0186325"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186325"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "29049335"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29049335"}]}]}]}