The expression of XBP1 and cyclin D was significantly increased in HCC tissues when compared with adjacent non-HCC tissues, while the expression of miR-199 was decreased.
It was observed that the splicing levels of XBP1 and hepatic IL-6 content were increased and positively correlated with each other in human HCC tissues (r<sup>2</sup>=0.5846, P=0.004).
MEAO significantly inhibited tunicamycin-induced ER stress marker expression including GRP78, CHOP, and XBP-1 in tunicamycin-treated Human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells and the livers of tunicamycin-injected mice.
The endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway mediated by ATF6 and by IRE1-XBP1 systems seems essential for the transformation-associated expression of the grp78 gene in HCCs.