Previous studies have demonstrated that the dephosphorylation of Bcl-2 at Thr69 increases Bcl-2 stability and thus inhibits cell apoptosis.15, 29 In this study, we demonstrated that NPAS2 inhibited apoptosis of HCC cells through transactivation of CDC25A and subsequent dephosphorylation of Bcl-2(Thr69). This evidence concerns the gene NPAS2 and hepatocellular carcinoma.