CsGRN promotes mesenchymal characteristics. a, b Western blotting was used to detecting the expression of EMT-relevant markers in transfected PLC and RBE cells. PLC-GRN/RBE-GRN cells showed the upregulation of vimentin, N-cadherin and β-catenin, and downregulation of ZO-1; however, the expression level of E-cadherin had not changed. c Relative mRNA expression of MMPs in transfected PLC and RBE cells. MMP2 expression was higher in PLC-GRN cells, and MMP2 and MMP9 were higher in RBE-GRN cells than in PLC-GFP cells or RBE-GFP cells. **P < 0.01, compared with control group. d The expression of EMT-relevant markers and relevant signalling pathways indicators was detected in the liver from Balb/c mice injected with rCsGRN protein. The level of E-cadherin increased, and the level of vimentin decreased in rCsGRN protein-treated mice with an extended immune time extended (no change in N-cadherin). The expression levels of p-ERK and p-AKT were dynamically changed. p-ERK reached a peak in 4 weeks after immunisation, while p-AKT did at 2 weeks