Fig. 1

HBX promotes EMT via vimentin. a The stable expression of HBX in hepatoma cells was detected by western blot. b The effect of HBX on expressions of EMT markers, including vimentin, E-cadherin, and β-catenin in hepatoma cells measured by western blot. c The effect of HBX on expressions of EMT markers, including vimentin, E-cadherin, and β-catenin in hepatoma cells were detected by immunofluorescence assay (× 400). d The role of over-expressed vimentin on E-cadherin and β-catenin in hepatoma cells. e The effect of shRNA on the expression of vimentin protein. f The inhibition of vimentin on the E-cadherin and β-catenin expressions in HBX-positive hepatoma cells. g The expressions of vimentin, E-cadherin, and β-catenin in HBV-related HCC tissues (n = 100) and associated adjacent tissues (n = 60) (× 400). h The correlation between HBX and vimentin protein expression in HBV-related HCC tissues. Mock: cells transfected with control plasmid. HBX: cells transfected with HBX plasmid. HA-Mock: cells transfected with control expression plasmid with HA tags. HA-VIM: cells transfected with vimentin expression plasmid with HA tags. HBX-shCON: HBX-positive cells transfected with shRNA control plasmid. HBX-shVIM: HBX-positive cells transfected with shRNA plasmid targeting vimentin. *P < 0.05