{
  "abstract": "Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype with limited targeted-treatment options. 25-Hydroxycholesterol (25-HC) is an oxysterol involved in metabolic and immune regulation, but its antitumour effects remain context dependent. We examined whether oral 25-HC suppresses 4T1 tumour growth in immunocompetent BALB/c mice and whether host immune status modifies the response. Mice bearing 4T1 tumours received oral vehicle or 25-HC (1 or 10 mg/kg) daily for 14 days (n = 6 per group). 25-HC reduced endpoint tumour volume from 1510.6 ± 235.4 mm3 (vehicle) to 1147.2 ± 243.1 and 866.7 ± 206.6 mm3 (adjusted p = 0.027 and 0.0004); the 10 mg/kg dose also reduced tumour weight and Ki-67 positivity, increased CD8-positive T-cell infiltration and the granzyme B (GZMB)-positive fraction, reduced M2-like macrophages and raised the M1/M2 ratio. Tumour-tissue adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signalling was altered, with p-AMPK/AMPK increased to 1.23- and 1.57-fold of control and p-STAT6/STAT6 decreased to 0.81- and 0.46-fold. Serum 25-HC increased with dose, while intratumoral 25-HC was lowest at 10 mg/kg; no dose-associated reduction was observed in BALB/c nude mice. Oral 25-HC thus suppressed 4T1 tumour growth with immune-context-associated features; however, the treatment-by-host interaction did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.06), and immune-context association of the response remains suggestive rather than established. The reciprocal serum–tumour pattern, a descriptive observation from a single time point whose cause remains unclear, generates a testable hypothesis of immune-cell-associated 25-HC handling.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, China",
    "School of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China",
    "The First Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, China"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shuo Liang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jingyao Xu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Zining Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Yuhao Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yanlei Xu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Chang Yao",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7368-9476"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zhiyuan Zhu"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0px9pte999nr9.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/ijms27219735",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "0px9pte999nr9",
  "issns": [
    "1422-0067"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9735",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-30",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0px9pte999nr9.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T00:20:54Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/ijms27219735",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9735"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "issn:1422-0067",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Oral 25-Hydroxycholesterol Suppresses 4T1 Tumour Growth in an Immune-Context-Associated Manner",
  "title_text": "Oral 25-Hydroxycholesterol Suppresses 4T1 Tumour Growth in an Immune-Context-Associated Manner",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T00:20:52Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0px9pte999nr9",
  "venue": "International Journal of Molecular Sciences",
  "versions": []
}