HOXD3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: In further support of this notion, a ChIP analysis revealed that there is a putative HOXD3-binding site located in the upstream region of the VEGFR gene (Fig. 5E and F); overexpression of HOXD3 in HCC cells resulted in an increase in VEGFR expression (Fig. 5G), suggesting that HOXD3 is involved in the regulation of VEGFR expression.