The proportion of cells that were positive for β-galactosidase activity, an indicator of cell senescence, was significantly increased in the HepG2-RBM38-OE (p = 0.0077) and SMMC7721-RBM38-OE cell lines (p = 0.0421) compared to the corresponding controls (Fig. 4b), suggesting that up-regulation of RBM38 may promote senescence in liver cancer cells, which is consistent with the function of restoring wtp53. The gene discussed is RBM38; the disease is liver cancer.