ELAVL1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Furthermore, immunofluorescent analyses of normal versus malignant liver tissue revealed that HuR protein is down-regulated in normal human liver samples and up-regulated in HCC samples of different aetiologies [cirrhotic patients with Hepatitis C (HCV), alcoholic steatohepatitis, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)], and are increased proportionately to their transformation status [27].