肝癌是严重威胁我国人们生命健康的最常见恶性肿瘤之一，肿瘤转移是引起病人死亡的主要原因，深入研究肝癌细胞转移的病理病因具有重要意义。早期胚胎发育与肿瘤发生发展的生物学行为有许多相似之处，我们从发育至4至9周的人胚胎中分离出具有独特表达模式的C1orf61基因，初步研究发现C1orf61具有调节人肝癌细胞发生侵润转移的能力。但C1orf61促进肝癌细胞转移的方式及其详细的分子调控机制有待进一步阐明，本项目将在现有工作研究基础上，通过体外和体内实验，研究C1orf61促进肝癌细胞转移的临床病理学特征，并从分子水平上深入探索C1orf61促进肝癌细胞转移的分子机制，确定C1orf61基因对细胞转移相关的重要分子及所涉及信号途径的调控方式。研究结果将为阐述肝癌发生发展的分子机理、理解C1orf61基因在肝癌转移中的作用提供科学证据，也为探索新的肝癌早期诊断手段和可能的特异性靶向治疗方法提供理论依据。

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ranks among the most common malignant cancers and is a major public health problem in China. Metastasis causes most cancer-related mortality. It's therefore tempting to explore the significance of the detailed etiologic factors underlying the HCC metastasis. Similarities are found between the biological processes of cancer progression and early human embryogenesis. Our preliminary studies reveal that C1orf61 protein plays a pivotal role in regulating cell invasion/metastasis of HCC by cloning the C1orf61 gene, which has unique expression pattern, during weeks 4 to 9 of human embryogenesis. However, how C1orf61 participates in HCC metastasis process and the underlying molecular mechanism is imperative to elucidate. In the present project, based on experiments in vitro and in vivo, we have focused on the clinical pathological features, the detailed mechanical underpinnings, and investigated the crucial signaling pathways implicated in the C1orf61-mediated HCC cell metastasis and invasiveness. Overall, the results of our study will provide a scientific basic overview on the molecular mechanism of the HCC tumorigenesis, on the understanding of the role C1orf61 played in the metastasis of HCC, and provide theoretical basis to establish novel, effective, and targeted therapies for this highly aggressive cancer.