Furthermore, AJAP1 levels were lower in highly metastatic HCC cell lines, including SK-Hep-1, HCCLM3, and MHCC97H cells than in those with low metastatic potential such as SMMC7721, MHCC97L and Huh7 cells, and was highest in the normal hepatic cell line (L02), as determined by western blotting and real-time PCR (Figure 1d). Here, AJAP1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.