A Computational Framework to Identify Transcriptional and Network Differences between Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Normal Liver Tissue and Their Applications in Repositioning Drugs.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and lethal malignancies worldwide. Although there have been extensive studies on the molecular mechanisms of its carcinogenesis, FDA-approved drugs for HCC are rare. Side effects, development time, and cost of these drugs are the major bottlenecks, which can be partially overcome by drug repositioning.

14-3-3ζ up-regulates hypoxia-inducible factor-1α in hepatocellular carcinoma via activation of PI3K/Akt/NF-кB signal transduction pathway.

14-3-3ζ protein, a member of 14-3-3 family, plays important roles in multiple cellular processes. Our previous study showed that 14-3-3ζ could bind to regulate the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), which is induced by hypoxia and a crucial factor for induction of tumor metastasis. Moreover, we also have confirmed the response of 14-3-3ζ to hypoxia in our unpublished data as well.