Expression of Ovol2 is related to epithelial characteristics and shows a favorable clinical outcome in hepatocellular carcinoma

Metastasis involves epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and mesenchymal–epithelial transition. Ovol2 belongs to the Ovo-like family (Ovol) of evolutionarily conserved zinc-finger transcription factors that regulate gene expression in various differentiation processes. Recent studies have demonstrated that Ovols affect mesenchymal–epithelial transition by inducing the expression of miR-200 in a range of human cancers. Downregulated Ovol2 expression is involved in the invasion and metastasis of breast and prostate cancers, but little is known about its expression and prognostic value in other cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study was designed to explore the clinical and prognostic significance of Ovol2 in patients with HCC. The expression of Ovol2 in tumor samples from patients with HCC and HCC cell lines was examined using Western blotting, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and immunohistochemistry. The expression levels of EMT-related markers, including E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin, were detected in relation to Ovol2 expression. The prognostic significance of Ovol2 in patients with HCC was statistically analyzed by Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression analyses. Ovol2 expression was significantly lower in HCC tissues than in adjacent noncancerous tissues. Low expression of Ovol2 was detected in HCC tissues with poor histological differentiation, microvascular invasion, and cirrhosis. A significant relationship was observed between Ovol2 and EMT marker expression levels. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that overall survival was significantly worse in patients with HCC with low Ovol2 expression, indicating that Ovol2 deletion was an independent predictor of unfavorable prognosis in patients with HCC. Elevated Ovol2 expression may suppress HCC cell invasion and metastasis via restricting EMT.