Fig. 4
From: SALL4 in gastrointestinal tract cancers: upstream and downstream regulatory mechanisms
Mechanisms underlying SALL4 regulation and function in liver cancer. SALL4 expression is inhibited by miR-15a, which leads to decreased proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells. TNF-α inhibits miR-497 expression and upregulates SALL4. SALL4 promotes hepatocarcinogenesis by activating the PTEN/AKT pathway and targeting miR-146a-5p, which further promotes cancer development. As a transcription factor, SALL4 up-regulates the hepatic stem cell markers KRT19, EPCAM, and CD44