Background and Aims Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer‐related deaths worldwide, hence a major public health threat. Pleomorphic adenoma gene like‐2 (PLAGL2) has been reported to play a role in tumorigenesis. However, its precise function in HCC remains poorly understood. Approach and Results In this study, we demonstrated that PLAGL2 was up‐regulated in HCC compared with that of adjacent nontumorous tissues and also correlated with overall survival times. We further showed that PLAGL2 promoted HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion both in vitro and in vivo. PLAGL2 expression was positively correlated with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression. Mechanistically, this study demonstrated that PLAGL2 functions as a transcriptional regulator of EGFR and promotes HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion through the EGFR‐AKT pathway. Moreover, hypoxia was found to significantly induce high expression of PLAGL2, which promoted hypoxia inducible factor 1/2 alpha subunit (HIF1/2A) expression through EGFR. Therefore, this study demonstrated that a PLAGL2‐EGFR‐HIF1/2A signaling loop promotes HCC progression. More importantly, PLAGL2 expression reduced hepatoma cells’ response to the anti‐EGFR drug erlotinib. PLAGL2 knockdown enhanced the response to erlotinib. Conclusions This study reveals the pivotal role of PLAGL2 in HCC cell proliferation, metastasis, and erlotinib insensitivity. This suggests that PLAGL2 can be a potential therapeutic target of HCC.

Activated carbons derived from hydrothermal carbonization of sucrose and subsequent KOH activation have been prepared and tested for the adsorptive removal of refractory thiophenic compounds. Textural and chemical properties of the carbons and their corresponding impacts on adsorption rates and capacities were discussed in detail. The optimum carbon possessed high adsorption capacity (41.5mgS/g for 300ppmwS model oil), fast adsorption rate (97% saturated within 5 min) as well as relatively good selectivity for the adsorption of thiophenic compounds due to the abundant small micropores, suitable mesopore fraction and Page 1 of 35 ACS Paragon Plus Environment ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 2 various oxygen functionalities present in the carbon. Combined with the economic and environmental merits of the preparation procedure, the sucrose-derived activated carbons are promising candidates for potential practical applications.

SignificanceZIF‐8, a typical and popular type of MOFs, was synthesized and carbonized directly to produce highly porous carbon without washing or activation. The resulting carbon was found to be a promising candidate for adsorption desulfurization of DBT with a maximum adsorption capacity of 26.7 mgS/g in the concentration range below 174 ppmS, and the adsorption capacity decreased approximately 17% with the addition of 10% para‐xylene. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 2747–2751, 2014