Loss-of-function mutations of microRNA-142-3p promote ASH1L expression to induce immune evasion and hepatocellular carcinoma progression

Table 1 Clinical characteristics of 111 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma patients after liver transplantation

Characteristics		Number of cases	Percentage of cases (%)
Age (year)	< 60	78	70.3
	≥ 60	33	29.7
Gender	Male	93	83.8
	Female	18	16.2
Hepatitis	HBV	89	80.2
	HCV	13	11.7
	None	9	8.1
Cirrhosis	Y	109	98.2
	N	2	1.8
AFP (ug/L)	< 400	71	64
	≥ 400	40	36
Meld score	≤ 14	108	97.3
	15-18	3	2.7
	> 18	0	0
Clinicopathological stag	I	27	24.3
	II	34	30.6
	III	50	45.1
	IV	0	0
MVI	Y	28	25.2
	N	83	74.8
Pathological differentiation	Well	1	0.9
	Moderate	69	62.1
	Poor	33	29.7
	Undifferentiated	8	7.2
Number of tumors	Single	48	43.2
	Multiple	63	56.8
Satellite nodules	N	88	79.3
	Y	23	20.7
Relapse states (at follow-up)	N	69	62.2
	Y	42	37.8
Vital states (at follow-up)	Alive	81	73
	Dead	30	27
Expression of ASH1L	Low expression	67	60.4
	High expression	44	39.6

AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; MVI: Microvascular invasion; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; Y: Yes; N: No.

Table 2 Correlation between the expression of ASH1L and clinical blood examinations

Variable	High expression (n = 44)	Low expression (n = 67)	P value
ALT (U/L)	36.30 (24.40-56.35)	34.50 (20.60-47.90)	0.228
AST (U/L)	60.85 (42.20-104.13)	41.20 (27.30-64.20)	0.003
TB (μmol/L)	36.49 (17.53-75.96)	21.19 (13.70-37.71)	0.021
Scr (μmol/L)	65.05 (58.03-80.00)	66.00 (53.00-77.00)	0.424
ALB (g/L), mean ± SD	34.94 ± 5.98	35.20 ± 6.02	0.878
AFP (ng/mL)	215.90 (10.45-1705.50)	76.68 (6.34-1210.00)	0.187
WBC (× 109/L)	4.23 (2.80-5.77)	4.51 (2.98-6.14)	0.387
HGB (g/L), mean ± SD	120.84 ± 24.98	125.09 ± 22.44	0.458
PLT (× 109/L)	108.00 (55.25-145.75)	106.0 (64.00-163.00)	0.623
INR	1.19 (1.06-1.44)	1.21 (1.09-1.36)	0.594
PT (second)	12.95 (11.53-14.98)	13.60 (12.20-15.30)	0.197

TB: Total bilirubin; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; ALB: Albumin; WBC: White blood cell; HGB: Hemoglobin; PLT: Platelets; INR: International normalized ratio; PT: Prothrombin Time; Scr: Serum creatinine; AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein.

Table 3 Correlation between expression of ASH1L and clinicopathological characteristics

Variable	High expression (n = 44)	Low expression (n = 67)	P value
Gender (M/F)	37/7	56/11	0.944
Age (year)	54.73 ± 8.56	54.63 ± 9.67	0.814
Hepatitis (HBV/HCV/none)	36/4/4	52/9/5	0.487
Cirrhosis (Y/N)	32/12	64/2	0.25
MELD score	7.67 (5.57-9.65)	6.62 (5.43-8.09)	0.071
Number of tumors (multiple/single)	30/14	33/34	0.05
Maximum diameter of tumor (cm)	3.50 (2.00-6.00)	3.00 (2.00-6.00)	0.954
Satellite cooker (Y/N)	12/32	11/56	0.169
MVI (Y/N)	16/28	12/55	0.029
Tumor differentiation (well/moderate/poor/undifferentiation)	0/28/15/1	1/40/19/7	0.649
Clinicopathological stage (I/II/III/IV)	7/12/25/0	20/22/25/0	0.032
Relapse states (N/Y)	22/22	47/22	0.002
Vital states (alive/dead)	25/19	56/11	0.033

Y: Yes; N: No; M: Male; F: Female; MELD: Model for end-stage liver disease; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus.