Fig. 1

Increased levels of RARγ in HCC correlates with distant metastasis and predicts poor clinical outcome. a RARγ expression in HCC samples was evaluated by western blotting. Four randomly selected pairs of HCC tumors (T) and matched surrounding tissues (S) are presented. b Box plot shows the mRNA levels of RARγ expression in 38 human HCC and 58 human liver cancer precursor tissues. Statistical significance was determined by a two-tailed, unpaired Student's t-test. c Representative bright-field images showing RARγ staining (brown) in human HCC sections. Nuclei (blue) were marked by hematoxylin staining. Scale bar: 100 μm. T, tumor. S, surrounding tissue. d Scatter plot analysis of RARγ levels in 56 HCC tissue samples and their surrounding tissues. Statistical significance was determined by a two-tailed, paired Student's t-test. **p < 0.01. e Representative bright-field images showing RARγ staining (brown) in human HCC tissues with distant metastasis (N = 30) and without distant metastasis (N = 26). Nuclei (blue) were marked by hematoxylin staining. Scale bar: 100 μm. f Scatter plot analysis of RARγ levels in human HCC tissues with distant metastasis (N = 30) and without distant metastasis (N = 26). Statistical significance was determined by a two-tailed, unpaired Student's t-test. **p < 0.01. g Kaplan-Meier survival curve of HCC patients with low (n = 44) and high (n = 46) RARγ expression