HIC1 and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: Restoration of HIC1 expression was revealed by 5-Aza-CdR treatment in six ESCC lines (Figure 1B), accompanied by demethylation of HIC1 promoter, while no change in HEEC cells (Figure 1D and 1E), indicating that HIC1 is transcriptionally silenced in these cells by DNA hypermethylation.