Professor NG Oi Lin Irene | iolng@hku.hk
Head of Department
Loke Yew Professor in Pathology
Chair Professor of Pathology
Director, State Key Laboratory for Liver Research (HKU)
Assistant Dean (Research), Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU
MBBS HK, MD HK, PhD HK, FRCPath, FHKCPath, FHKAM (Pathology)

Hepatopathology and molecular oncology of liver cancer

Research Description

Liver cancer - molecular genetics and cell signaling:

Finding and characterizing new genes
Delineation of important cell signaling pathways

In studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms, my research team and I focus on identifying new and important tumour suppressor genes and oncogenes in liver cancer, characterizing these novel genes and molecular targets, and understanding how aberrant cell signaling drives liver cancer formation.

Genetic and epigenetic alterations exert their influence by altering cell signaling pathways. We are currently characterizing critical oncogenic signaling pathways in liver cancer and investigating the cooperation and crosstalk of these pathways with other critical genes and pathways. We have been examining critical signaling pathways including DLC1/Rho/ROCK, Wnt/b-catenin, and PTEN/Akt/mTOR. We are currently also investigating the molecular mechanisms leading to metastasis in this cancer. We aim to identify the key molecules that govern cell motility and invasion of cancer cells.

We have employed molecular profiling to establish databases including differentially expressed profiles in liver cancer and find out putative tumour suppressor genes silenced by epigenetics unmasked pharmacologically. We are working to establish useful bioinformatics databases for liver cancer for use in search of novel liver cancer-related genes involved in the disease’s development, biological mechanism and cancer metastasis.

Research Grants

RGC Collaborative Research Fund on liver cancer (2007 and 2010)
RGC General Research Fund on liver cancer in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008, 2010, 2011
NSFC/RGC Joint Research Grant on liver cancer (2002 and 2006)
Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases (RFCID) on HBV and liver cancer (2006)
Michael and Betty Kadoorie Cancer Genetics Research Program on liver cancer (2 grants in 2004)
Association for International Cancer Research Grant on liver cancer (2003)

Research team members

Dr Jack CM Wong (Assistant Professor)
Dr Terence KW Lee (Assistant Professor)
Dr Karen MF Sze (Post-doctoral Fellow)
Dr Edmund KK Tung (Post-doctoral Fellow)
Dr Carmen CL Wong (Post-doctoral Fellow)
Dr Lo-Kong Chan (Post-doctoral Fellow)
Dr Elley Chiu (Post-doctoral Fellow)
Ms Sandy Leung-Kuen Au (Research Associate)

Ms Dorothy Ngo-Yin Fan (PhD student)
Ms Felice Tsang (PhD student)
Mr Alan Kai (PhD student)
Mr Wei Ma (PhD student)
Mr Yu-Man Tsui (PhD student)
Ms Eunice Yuen-Ting Lau (PhD student)

Ms Joyce MF Lee (Technician)
Mr Vincent Chi-Ho Cheung (Research Assistant)
Ms Ping Lu (Research Assistant)
Mr Larry L Wei (Research Assistant)
Ms Iris Mingjin Xu (Research Assistant)

Awards and Honors

Director, State Key Laboratory for Liver Research (by Ministry of Science and Technology)

Loke Yew Endowed Professorship in Pathology

Outstanding Research Student Supervisor Award 2007-08, HKU

Croucher Senior Medical Research Fellowship 2005-06

Outstanding Researcher Award 2005, HKU

Awards of Team Members including Postgraduate Students (in recent years)

2009 Croucher Postdoctoral Fellowship for overseas postdoctoral fellow training to Ms Carmen C.L. Wong, PhD student

2009 Dr. KP Stephen Chang Gold Medal 2008-2009, Hong Kong Young Scientist Award (Life Science), Hong Kong Institution of Science, and Li Ka Shing Prize for the Best PhD Thesis 2009-2010 to Ms Carmen C.L. Wong, PhD student

2009 Young Investigator Award, Hong Kong International Cancer Congress 2009 to Ms Sandy LK Au, PhD student

2010 Hong Kong International Cancer Congress Young Investigator Award to Mr. Vincent Chi-Ho Cheung, MPhil student

2010 Best PhD Presentation Prize, Research Postgraduate Symposium, HKU Medical Faculty to Ms Sandy L.K. Au, PhD student

2011 Outstanding Research Postgraduate Student award of HKU to Ms Antonia Genevieve Castilho, MPhil student

Selected Publications:

Click here for detail publication list on PubMed

Wong CM, Wong CCL, Lee JMF, Fan DNY, Au SLK, Ng IOL. Sequential alterations of miRNA expression in hepatocellular carcinoma development and venous metastasis. Hepatology 2011, Dec 2. [Epub ahead of print] (Faculty of 1000 [F1000] - top 2% of published articles in biology and medicine).

Chan KY, Wong CM, Kwan JS, Lee KM, Cheung KW, Yuen MF, Lai CL, Poon RT, Sham PC, Ng IOL. GWAS identified 8p12 locus that is associated with susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma in Southern Chinese patients with chronic HBV infection. PLoS One 2011;6(12):e28798. Epub 2011 Dec 8.

Lee TK, Castilho A, Cheung VC, Tang KH, Ma S, Ng IO. CD24+ liver tumor-initiating cells drive self-renewal and tumor initiation through Stat3-mediated nanog regulation. Cell Stem Cell 2011; 9:50-63

Sze KM, Wong KL, Chu GK, Yau TO, Ng IOL. Loss of PTEN enhances cell invasion and migration through AKT/Sp-1 transcription factor/MMP2 activation and has clinicopathologic significance in hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatology 2011;53:1558-69.

Gao P, Wong CCL, Tung EKK, Lee JMF, Wong CM, Ng IOL. Deregulation of microRNA expression occurs early and accumulates in early stages of HBV-associated multistep hepatocarcinogenesis. J Hepatol 2011; 54:1177-84.

Wong CCL, Wong CM, Tung EKK, Au SLK, Lee JMF, Man K, Ng IOL. MiR-139 suppresses metastasis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma through regulation of Rho-kinase 2 (ROCK2). Gastroenterology 2011;140:322-31. (Top 2% of published articles in biology and medicine, Faculty of 1000 [F1000].

Lee TKW, Castilho A, Cheung VCH, Tang KH, Ma S, Ng IOL. Lupeol targets liver tumor initiating cells through PTEN modulation. Hepatology 2010;53:160-70.

Wong CCL, Wong CM, Tung EK, Man K, Ng IOL. Rho-kinase 2 (ROCK2) is frequently overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma and involved in tumor progression. Hepatology 2009; 49:1583-1594.

Sze KMF, Ching YP, Jin DY, Ng IOL. Role of a novel splice variant of MAD1, MAD1b, in mitotic checkpoint control in liver cancer. Cancer Res 2008; 68: 9194-9201.

Lee JMF, Wong CM, Ng IOL. Hepatitis B virus-associated multistep hepatocarcinogenesis - a stepwise increase in allelic alterations. Cancer Res 2008; 68: 5988-5996.

Wong CCL, Wong CM, Ko FCF, Chan LK, Ching YP, Yam JWP, Ng IOL. Deleted in liver cancer 1 (DLC1) negatively regulates Rho/ROCK/MLC pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma. PLoS ONE 2008, 3(July): e2779.

Wong CM, Ng YL, Lee MF, Wong CL, Cheung OF, Chan CY, Tung EK, Ching YP, Ng IOL. Epigenetic gene expression profiling identified tissue-factor pathway inhibitor-2, TFPI-2, as a frequently silenced candidate tumor suppressor gene in human hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatology 2007; 45: 129-138.

Chan DW, Chan CY, Yam JWP, Ching YP, Ng IOL. Prickle-1 promotes degradation of Dishevelled by ubiquitination in liver cancer. Gastroenterology 2006; 131:1218-1227.

Yam JWP, Ko FCF, Chan CY, Jin DY, Ng IOL. Interaction of Deleted in liver cancer 1 with tensin2 in caveolae and implications in tumor suppression. Cancer Res 2006; 66: 8367-8372.

Leung THY, Ching YP, Yam JWP, Wong CM, Yau TO, Jin DY, Ng IOL. Deleted in liver cancer 2, DLC2, suppresses cell transformation via inhibition of RhoA activity. PNAS USA 2005;102: 15207-15012.

Wong CM, Yam JWP, Ching YP, Leung THY, Yau TO, Jin DY, Ng IOL. Rho GTPase activating protein DLC1 suppresses cell proliferation and invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancer Res 2005, 65:8861-8868.