The cells in the tumor tissue communicate through the secretion of growth factors, chemokines, and cytokines during tumor progression, and TGF β is unique in its ability to both promote and inhibit tumorigenesis, depending on the cell type it is acting on [29]. Moreover, TGFβ1 could affect various molecular expression, such as P160ROCK[30], Integrin [31] and Matrix Metalloproteinases [32],and all of these molecules relate to HCC invasion. Conclusions Collectively, our results suggest that TGF β1

play an important role in the process of tumor growth and pulmonary metastasis of HCC, and the role were time-dependent and based on cell type itself. Strategies to modulate expression levels of TGF β1 could provide a better approach for the treatment of pulmonary metastasis in HCC. Authors’ informations This work was supported in part by China National Natural Science PLX-4720 supplier Foundation for distinguished Young Scholars (30325041), the China National ’863′ R & D High-tech Key Project. Acknowledgements We would like to thank Mrs. Qiong Xue, Dong-Mei Gao, Rui-Xia

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