Publication Name	World Journal of Hepatology
Manuscript ID	117134
Country	China

Category	Medicine, Research & Experimental
Manuscript Type	Basic Study
Article Title	Overexpression and clinicopathological significance of cullin-2 in hepatocellular carcinoma progression
Manuscript Source	Unsolicited Manuscript
All Author List	Pan Tang, Qiu-Hong Nong, Kun-Hua Xiong, Huan-Huan Tang, Bei-Bei Huang, Guang-Lei Huang, Qi Li, Shi-Pei He, Gang Chen, Zhen-Bo Feng and Jian-Di Li
Funding Agency and Grant Number	Funding Agency Grant Number Fund of National Natural Science Foundation of China NSFC82260581 the Innovation Project of Guangxi Graduate Education JGY2023068 Guangxi Medical University “Four New” Project SX202403 Guangxi Medical University Special Project on Educational and Teaching Reform for Clinical Disciplines 2025LCJG02 Guangxi Medical University Digital Textbook Construction Project Gxmuszjc2515 the China Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program 202510598040 the Future Academic Star of Guangxi Medical University WLXSZX25B079
Corresponding Author	Jian-Di Li, Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, No. 6 Shuangyong Road, Nanning 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. jiandi_li_gxmu@163.com
Key Words	Hepatocellular carcinoma; Cullin 2; Molecular biomarker; Molecular mechanisms; Prognosis; Targeted therapy
Core Tip	Cullin-2 (CUL2) is highly expressed in mRNA and protein levels in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Multicenter analysis (n = 5204) confirmed its high expression (standardized mean difference = 0.70) and diagnostic value (area under the curve = 0.78). The overall survival of patients with high expression was shortened by about 4.1 years. Functional enrichment showed that it was associated with E2F, G2/M and MYC pathways and promoted cell cycle progression. Knockout of CUL2 significantly inhibited the growth of HCC cells, indicating that CUL2 drives HCC progression through proliferation and migration.
Citation	Tang P, Nong QH, Xiong KH, Tang HH, Huang BB, Huang GL, Li Q, He SP, Chen G, Feng ZB, Li JD. Overexpression and clinicopathological significance of cullin-2 in hepatocellular carcinoma progression. World J Hepatol 2026; In press

Received	2025-12-01 02:35
Peer-Review Started	2025-12-01 02:35
First Decision by Editorial Office Director	2025-12-09 07:31
Return for Revision	2025-12-09 07:31
Revised	2025-12-23 18:27
Publication Fee Transferred
Second Decision by Editor	2026-02-04 02:44
Second Decision by Editor-in-Chief
Final Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-02-04 05:24
Articles in Press	2026-02-04 05:24
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor
Typeset the Manuscript

ISSN	1948-5182 (online)
Open Access	This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Copyright	© The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Permissions	For details, please visit: http://www.wjgnet.com/bpg/gerinfo/207
Publisher	Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
Website	http://www.wjgnet.com