Fig. 1. IHC staining results investigating TR₄ level in primary HCC and their matched metastatic lesions.

Eighteen pairs of clinical specimens of primary HCC and their matched metastatic lesions were obtained from Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China. IHC staining was performed using TR₄ antibody (1:100). a, b TR₄ expression in one matched primary and metastatic clinical sample: TR₄ expression level is strong in primary HCC lesion (a) and weak in its bile duct tumor thrombus (b). c, d TR₄ expression in another matched primary and metastatic clinical sample: TR₄ expression level is moderate in primary HCC lesion (c) and weak in its lymph node metastasis (d). e RT-qPCR results showed lower expression of TR₄ (P = 0.043) and higher EphA2 expression (P = 0.020) in primary HCC tissues compared with their matched normal liver tissues. P-values presented in figures, *P < 0.05