Fig. 1: UCHL1 is highly expressed in human NSCLC tissues and is correlated with poor prognosis.

A Members of the DUB family were found to be positively associated with NSCLC metastasis. B Overall survival (OS) was analyzed based on the expression of UCHL in NSCLC samples using Kaplan–Meier plotter. C Box plots were generated to compare UCHL1 mRNA levels between lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD, n = 483) and normal lung tissues (n = 59), and between lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC, n = 486) and normal lung tissues (n = 338) from the TCGA database. Log-rank test. D Representative images of UCHL1 immunohistochemical staining in tumor-adjacent and tumor tissues are shown. E UCHL1 expression was assessed in a tissue microarray (TMA) consisting of 52 NSCLC samples. F Representative IHC images of UCHL1 expression in metastatic and nonmetastatic tissues are presented. G The correlation between different UCHL1 expression levels and metastasis status in 52 NSCLC samples was analyzed. Chi-square test. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.