Abstract: Objective To analyze the expression of Axin-1 during chemical induction of liver cancer in C57BL/6J mice. Methods C57BL/6J mice were divided randomly into an experimental group（n=50）and a control group（n=45）.Mice in the experimental group were treated with diethylnitrosamine（DEN），carbon tetrachloride（CCl₄） and ethanol for 20 weeks to induce hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC）.Every 2 weeks，5 mice in each group were sacrificed and liver samples were taken.Dynamic expression of Axin-1 was analyzed using real-time PCR，Western blotting and immunohistochemistry，while pathological changes were analyzed using hematoxylin staining. Results The 20-week DEN/CCl₄/ethanol treatment successfully induced liver cancer in C57BL/6J mice.Based on real-time PCR and Western blotting，expression of Axin-1 mRNA and protein was significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group between weeks 16 and 20.This expression decreased gradually over time in the experimental group：levels of mRNA were 0.421±0.083 at week 16，0.278±0.042 at week 18 and 0.120±0.028 at week 20（P＜0.05）.Immunohistochemistry showed detectable levels of Axin-1 staining in the control group at all time points tested；in the experimental group，however，the level of staining began to decrease at week 16 and was nearly undetectable at week 20. Conclusion The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway may be associated with HCC development，with Axin-1 acting to inhibit HCC progression.

Key words: Liver neoplasm, Wnt/β-catenin, Signaling pathway, Axin-1, Chemical carcinogenesis