Integrator complex subunit 6 (INTS6) inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma growth by Wnt pathway and serve as a prognostic marker

Background Integrator complex subunit 6 (INTS6) was found to play a tumour suppressing role in certain types of solid tumours. In this study, we wanted to determine the expression level of INTS6 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and evaluate its clinical characteristics and mechanisms in HCC patients (Lui and Lu, European Journal of Cancer, 51:S94, 2015). Methods First, we used a microarray analysis to explore the mRNA expression levels in HCC and paired normal liver tissues; second, we used qRT-PCR to measure the INTS6 mRNA levels in a cohort of 50 HCC tissues and adjacent normal liver tissues; third, we used Western blot analyses to detect the INTS6 protein levels in 20 paired HCC and normal liver tissues; fourth, we used immunohistochemistry to determine the INTS6 expression levels in 70 archived paraffin-embedded HCC samples. Finally, we investigated the suppressive function of INTS6 in the Wnt pathway. Results Herein, according to the microarray data analysis, the expression levels of INTS6 were dramatically down-regulated in HCC tissues vs. those in normal liver tissues (p