Fig. 1

Distribution of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) and 5-methylcytosine (5mC) in HCC tissue. a IHC was performed using antibodies against 5hmC and 5mC in human normal and HCC tissues, the mean values of the IHC are shown (each group N = 55, n = 3). Four pictures are presented for each condition. The reduction of the 5hmC generation and an increase of 5mC in HCC samples compared with the corresponding normal liver samples were observed. Data are represented as box plot (whisker, Tukey). b IF staining was performed by using the antibody against 5hmC (red) for HCC cell lines (Huh7, HLE, and HLF). Cell nuclei were counterstained with Hoechst 33342 (blue). Scale bar are 20 μM. For quantification, 5hmC positive nuclei were counted. Statistical methods included paired t test and independent samples t test. All statistical tests were considered significant at α = 0.05 (p < 0.05)