Fig. 1

SMYD3 expression is upregulated in HCC tissues. a, b We investigated the transcriptomes in 5 pairs of HCC and adjacent noncancerous tissues using a high-throughput RNA deep sequencing approach (RNA-seq). Then, the results were integrated with the differentially expressed genes of HCC and adjacent tissues in the TCGA database (2207 genes) and The Human Transcription Factors database (1639 genes), and 24 differentially expressed regulatory factors were identified. c The alteration frequency of the SMYD family in HCC from TCGA database. d Analysis of clinical data from TCGA database for expression of SMYD3 by disease stage progression. e LM3 cells stably expressing SMYD3 shRNA or shSCR were transplanted into athymic mice. The tumor was dissected at 4 weeks after injection, and the images were presented. The average tumor mass and weight of each group are shown. **P < 0.01 (two-tailed unpaired t-test). f Real-time PCR of SMYD3 in 12 pairs of HCC and adjacent noncancerous tissues. Expression of SMYD3 was measured using qPCR. In addition, mRNA levels were normalized to β-actin. Each bar represents the mean ± s.d. for triplicate experiments (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001). g Western blotting analysis of the protein levels of SMYD3 in 12 pairs of HCC and adjacent noncancerous tissues. h LM3-Luc cells infected with lentiviruses carrying the indicated shRNAs were injected intravenously through the tail vein of 6-week-old female SCID mice (n = 5). Lung metastasis was quantified using bioluminescence imaging after 4 weeks