It was demonstrated that HDGF knockdown decreased the expression of the mesenchymal markers Vimentin and N-cadherin, and the EMT central regulators Snail and Slug compared with shRNA-CTR transfected cells or PBS-treated cells, while the expression of epithelial marker E-cadherin was upregulated in PCa cell lines DU145(Fig 5A and 5B), PC3 (Fig 5C and 5D) and LNCaP (Fig 5E and 5F) following HDGF knockdown. The gene discussed is SNAI2; the disease is posterior cortical atrophy.