TP53 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Interestingly, however, the ability of H2O2 to increase the p53 signal was lower in the HBV-infected HepG2-NTCP cells (51.0%) than in the mock-infected ones (81.2%), indicating that HBx weakens the ability of H2O2 to upregulate p53 levels in human hepatoma cells.