DEN-induced rat HCC tissues showed the upregulated expression levels of HDAC2, CDK2, cyclin D1, cyclin A, N-cadherin, fibronectin and suppressed expression levels of p21WAF1/Cip1 and E-cadherin accompanied by reduced-miR31 expression compared to normal rat hepatic tissues (Fig. 5B and C). Here, CDK2 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.