VIPR1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: DNA methylation was negatively correlated with the mRNA expression for eight genes, ACSM3, INTS8, LCAT, MT1X, CRHBP, MARCO, PAMR1, and VIPR1. In particular, high methylation of the first four genes was significantly correlated with lower mRNA expression (Fig. 7), indicating that the expression of these genes in HCC might be regulated by DNA methylation.