Figure 7.

Expression levels of Cx32, E-cadherin and Vimentin in HCC and matched adjacent nontumor (ANT) tissues. (A) Staining of Cx32, E-cadherin, and Vimentin was performed by immunohistochemistry, and representative images are shown. While Cx32 was weakly stained and mainly located in the cytoplasm in HCC tissues, Cx32 signals were distributed abundantly and linearly on the membrane in ANT tissues. Remarkably reduced membrane staining of E-cadherin was observed in HCC tissues compared with adjacent noncancerous normal liver tissues. HCC tissues showed strong staining of Vimentin in the cytoplasm, while ANT tissues had weak or no Vimentin expression (original magnification, ×400). (B–D) The staining indexes (SI) of Cx32 (B) and E-cadherin (C) were significantly lower, but that of Vimentin (D) was markedly higher in HCC tissues compared with normal paired samples. **P<0.01.

Abbreviations: ANT, adjacent nontumor; Cx, connexin; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma.