Following HULC siRNA transfection of ovarian cancer cells, ATG7, LC3 and LAMP1 mRNA and protein expression both were significantly higher than in the control, whereas expression of SQSTM1 and ITGB1 was significantly decreased by HULC siRNA transfection compared with the negative control (P<0.05; Figures 5f and g). Here, SQSTM1 is linked to ovarian cancer.