Figure 8.

Increased collagen content and SCD1 upregulation synergistically predict poor prognosis in HCC patients

(A) SCD1 protein expression in the tumor and non-tumoral tissues detected by western blot. T, tumor tissues; N, non-tumoral tissues. (B) Representative images of HCC tissues analyzed for intratumoral collagen content by Masson’s trichrome staining and SCD1 expression by immunohistochemistry staining. Correlation analysis between intratumoral collagen content and SCD1 expression. (C and D) Kaplan-Meier curve of recurrence-free survival and OS for HCC patients stratified by intratumoral collagen content or SCD1 expression. (E) Kaplan-Meier curve of recurrence-free survival and OS for HCC patients stratified by intratumoral collagen content and SCD1 expression (collagen^high/SCD1^high versus collagen^high/SCD1^low versus collagen^low/SCD1^high versus collagen^low/SCD1^low tumors). (F) Kaplan-Meier curve of OS for HCC patients stratified by collagen content and SCD1 expression in The Cancer Genome Atlas-HCC cohort. (G) Schematic of the proposed mechanism that an SCD1-dependent mechanoresponsive pathway responsive to increasing matrix stiffness promotes HCC invasion and metastasis through lipid metabolic reprogramming. ECM, extracellular matrix; β1, integrin β1; FAK, focal adhesion kinase; EMT, epithelial mesenchymal transformation.