Regulation of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells by Spred2 and correlative studies on its mechanism

► Hepatocellular carcinoma is inhibited by Spred2 through as yet unclear mechanisms. ► We studied the overexpression of Spred2 in cell line and murine tumor models of HCC. ► Spred2 inhibited cell proliferation and migration via attenuating ERK signaling. ► Spred2 overexpression induced apoptosis via caspase-3 and downregulated Mcl-1. ► A Spred2 knockdown markedly induced tumor growth in vivo.