MFSD2A suppresses CD8+ T cell exhaustion in colorectal cancer by inhibiting ERK/p38 MAPK-PD-L1 signaling

BACKGROUND Although immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown remarkable efficacy in multiple malignancies, their clinical benefit remains limited in the majority of colorectal cancers (CRC). This resistance is attributed to CD8+ T cell exhaustion. The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) pathway plays a pivotal role in both tumor progression and immune evasion, but its upstream regulators in CRC are unclear. Major facilitator superfamily doma