ACTA1 and Hepatic fibrosis: In the current study, we found that the autophagic element BECN1 was enhanced in liver fibrosis, which was associated with the upregulated α-SMA and COL-I expressions and apoptotic signaling (Fig. 2a), and ultrastructural analysis showed the typical autophagosomes in the hepatocytes of mouse and human liver fibrotic sections but scarce in the normal tissues (Fig. 2b).