In conclusion, OPN promotes ICC progression through recruiting MAPK1 and activating the Wnt/β-Catenin pathway and can serve as a novel prognostic marker and therapeutic target for ICC.
Clinical evidence revealed a strong correlation of high OPN expression with cytoplasmic/nuclear expression of β-catenin in 43 cases of human combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma and mixed intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and 80 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Identification of osteopontin as the most consistently over-expressed gene in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: detection by oligonucleotide microarray and real-time PCR analysis.