These findings imply that UCHL5 promotes β-catenin ‘s deubiquitination by binding with β-catenin, preventing β-catenin protein from being degraded by ubiquitination, increasing the amount of β-catenin protein in tumor cells, and activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, which in turn accelerates the development of HCC. Here, UCHL5 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.