Fig. 1. CYB5A is frequently downregulated in human HCC.

A Workflow for selecting prognostic proteins with dots showing the 42 candidate proteins. B CYB5A mRNA level was analyzed in 18 HCC and paracancerous tissue specimens using real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). C, D Western blot and immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses of CYB5A protein expression in HCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues. T: tumor; P: normal paracancerous tissue. E Low CYB5A expression was associated with poor clinicopathological features, including gender, AJCC stage (I and II–IV), pathological grade (G1, G2, or G3–G4), and serum AFP (<400 μg/L or ≥400 μg/L) in TCGA cohort (n = 360). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001; ns, not significant. F A Kaplan–Meier analysis of overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in a clinical cohort (n = 80) with different CYB5A expressions. G, H Relative CYB5A levels in six HCC cell lines were analyzed by qRT-PCR and western blot. Data are means ± SD of three independent experiments.