Our present study revealed that the expression of Gli1, while not Gli2 or Gli3, is significantly increased in HCC cell lines and 20/28 (71.4%) HCC tissues as compared with their corresponding controls.
The hepatic level of miR-378a-3p is inversely correlated with the expression of Gli3 in tumour and non-tumour tissues in human hepatocellular carcinoma.
However, inhibition of Gli1 and Gli3 with ASOs did not decrease proliferation in most HCC cell lines and inhibitors targeting the upstream components of the pathway, including smoothened (Smo), displayed antiproliferative effects in only a subset of HCC cell lines.