VIM and hepatocellular carcinoma: Further analysis showed that knocking out RNF173 resulted in upregulation of mesenchymal markers (Vimentin and Snail) and downregulation of epithelial markers (E-cadherin) both in vitro and in orthotopic tumor model, indicating that low expression of RNF173 can enhance HCC cell invasiveness and metastasis and induce EMT.