Figure 5
Expression of HBx protein is positively related to HIF-1 α in HCC tissues. (A) Schematic illustration shows the different effects of HBx mutations on the regulation of HIF-1α. Although most of point mutations in HBx did not affect their ability to regulate HIF-1α, dual mutations K130M/V131I enhanced HBx ability to upregulate HIF-1α, whereas C-terminal truncations and deletion mutations reduced their ability to stimulate HIF-1α. The overall effects of HBx mutants on HIF-1α depend on the balance of these mutations. (B) The protein levels of HBx and HIF-1α were detected by immunohistochemical analysis (upper panel), and the relationship between them was determined by Spearman’s rank correlation analysis (lower panel). The experiments were repeated three times with similar results.
