More importantly, further studies, in which either A549Cld3 or A549 (Cld3KD) cells were exposed to EGF treatment (100 ng/ml), illustrated that upregulation of CLDN3 did weaken the EGF-induced cell proliferation, and the genetic silencing of CLDN3 expression prevented the EGF-induced proliferation in ABC cells (Figure 6B & 6C). The gene discussed is CLDN3; the disease is aneurysmal bone cyst.