Fig. 5

Schematic of the signaling pathways involved in NM-induced liver cancer. TiO₂ and NiO-NPs induce EMT occurrence by activating TGF-β activated WNT, SMAD and MAPK signaling. NiO-NPs and graphene QDs trigger EMT by activating miR-21 mediated TGF-β/SMAD signaling. SiO₂-NPs exacerbate EMT by inducing GJIC dysregulation involved in Cx43 phosphorylation via activating ERK/MAPK signaling. NMs contribute to cancer development by inducing inflammation via activating NF-κB signaling (ZnO-, TiO₂-, and SiO₂-NPs), and hypoxia via activating HIF-1α signaling (ZnO-, TiO₂-, Ni-, and Co- NPs). Ni-NPs and graphene QDs induce liver cancer progression via activating miR‑21 expression, thus upregulating MMP- and MMP-9 expression. P53 mutation is involved in NM (Si-NPs and CNTs) induced liver cancer progression by activating MAPK, TGF-β and HIF1-α signaling