Fig. 1

Identification of RPS7 as an important RNA-binding protein (RBP) that associates with HCC progression. Nine pairs of primary HCC tissues with extrahepatic metastasis (EHMH) and nine pairs of metastasis-free HCC tissues (MFH) as well as corresponding adjacent nontumoral tissues (ANT) were used for RNA sequencing analysis, aiming to screen and identify RBP that significantly correlate with HCC metastasis. The clinical data of HCC patients from TCGA-LIHC datasets were used for validation. According to the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system for liver cancer, patients were classified into metastasis group (TNM II~IVB) and metastasis-free group (TNM I ). A Schematic screening workflow of differentially expressed RBPs (DERBPs) in EHMH compared to MFH. B Volcano plot for DERBPs expression. C Go analysis of 312 upregulated DERBPs. D Heat map for the top 10 upregulated DERBPs. E The expression difference of each gene was analyzed by comparing metastasis group with metastasis-free group based on TCGA database. F The correlation between RPS7 levels and overall survival rate in HCC with metastasis. G The PPI network by String database