Earlier studies have shown that HNF4α supresses PED expression at the mRNA and protein levels by binding to its promoter.15, 16 Therefore, we first reconfirmed that HNF4α binds to the PED promotor in HCC, as revealed by a luciferase assay in SNU-449 cell lines (Figure 4a). Here, PEA15 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.