MMP2 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Also, miR-451 downregulation could lead to the decreased expression of epithelial markers and the increased expression of mesenchymal markers, total and nuclear Snail, p-GSK-3β, MMP-2 and MMP-9 proteins in above HCC cells, while both miR-451 downregulation and c-Myc overexpression could lead to the increased activity of snail promoter (Figure 7c-7d).