Identification of CD7 as a novel biomarker of embryonal hepatoblastoma

Ahmad Adawy; Daiki Yoshii; Hiroki Hirao; Yoshihiro Komohara; Yukio Fujiwara; Masahiro Tomita; Masaki Honda; Jia Han; Yao Liu; Sohsuke Yamada; Masahiro Yamamoto; Eiso Hiyama; Taizo Hibi

doi:10.1007/s00383-025-06255-9

Identification of CD7 as a novel biomarker of embryonal hepatoblastoma

Pediatr Surg Int. 2025 Dec 4;42(1):30. doi: 10.1007/s00383-025-06255-9.

Authors

Ahmad Adawy^{1

2

3}, Daiki Yoshii¹, Hiroki Hirao^{1

2}, Yoshihiro Komohara^{4

5}, Yukio Fujiwara¹, Masahiro Tomita^{1

2}, Masaki Honda², Jia Han⁶, Yao Liu⁶, Sohsuke Yamada⁶, Masahiro Yamamoto⁷, Eiso Hiyama⁸, Taizo Hibi²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cell Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Honjo 1-1-1, Chuouku, Kumamoto, 860-8556, Japan.
² Department of Pediatric Surgery and Transplantation, Kumamoto University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto, Japan.
³ Department of Pediatric Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Cell Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Honjo 1-1-1, Chuouku, Kumamoto, 860-8556, Japan. ycomo@kumamoto-u.ac.jp.
⁵ Center for Metabolic Regulation of Healthy Aging, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan. ycomo@kumamoto-u.ac.jp.
⁶ Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan.
⁷ Department of Tumor Pathology, Graduate school of Health Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
⁸ Department of Pediatric Surgery, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.

PMID: 41343061
DOI: 10.1007/s00383-025-06255-9

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the expression of cluster of differentiation 7 (CD7) in hepatoblastoma (HB) and its potential use as a novel biomarker of HB.

Methods: CD7 expression was investigated in human HB samples at the gene level by bulk, single-cell RNA sequencing, and spatial transcriptomic analyses, in addition to the protein level by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. CD7 gene expression-based survival analysis was also conducted, along with gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) of the CD7-SECTM1 receptor-ligand gene pair.

Results: CD7 was differentially expressed in human HB at both the gene level by various bioinformatics analyses, and the protein level by IHC, with remarkably higher expression levels in embryonal HB. Conversely, CD7 was not expressed in other primary adult liver tumors. CD7^high HB cases showed poorer 5-year event-free survival (P = 0.016), and GSEA demonstrated that CD7 is linked to the embryonal MYCN transcription factor, as were protumor kinases such as JAK3, and marginally MAPK14 and MAPK3.

Conclusion: CD7 is expressed in human HB, especially the embryonal histological subtype, and appears to be linked to tumor progression and poor clinical outcomes. Nevertheless, CD7-targeted chimeric antigen receptor T cells could be proposed as a promising immunotherapy for embryonal HB.

Keywords: Alpha fetoprotein; CAR t-cell; CD7; Embryonal; Hepatoblastoma; Spatial transcriptomics.

MeSH terms

Antigens, CD7* / genetics
Antigens, CD7* / metabolism
Biomarkers, Tumor* / genetics
Biomarkers, Tumor* / metabolism
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Hepatoblastoma* / diagnosis
Hepatoblastoma* / genetics
Hepatoblastoma* / metabolism
Hepatoblastoma* / mortality
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Liver Neoplasms* / diagnosis
Liver Neoplasms* / genetics
Liver Neoplasms* / metabolism
Liver Neoplasms* / mortality
Male

Substances

Biomarkers, Tumor
Antigens, CD7

Grants and funding

25K02477/Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan