Fig. 3

Heat map of antigens recognized by 11 selected antibodies. Band intensities were normalized among samples and blots. Measured intensities are displayed as a heat map. a In the first screening, the intensity of 18 protein bands for 11 antibodies was up- or downregulated in HCC carcinogenesis and progression. b In the next screening, we examined the selected 11 antibodies using the 40 samples from the newly enrolled patients. c In the independent validation study, the intensity of six bands for six antibodies differed among sample groups. The quantitative data for western blotting images are presented in Additional file 3: Table S2, Additional file 4: Table S3, Additional file 5: Table S4