This study investigated the expression profile and function of delta-like 1 homolog (DLK1), a non-canonical Notch ligand, during ovarian carcinogenesis.
Next, we expressed Dlk1 or SCUBE1 in CAFs and determined their effects upon tumorigenesis in vivo following recombination with BPH1 epithelia and xenografting in SCID mice.
Delta-like 1 homolog (DLK1; Drosophila) is a hepatic stem/progenitor cell marker in fetal livers that plays a vital role in oncogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
These data suggest that DLK1 as an imprinted gene could be significantly up-regulated in HCC due to certain epigenetic events and contribute to the oncogenesis of this tumor.