In a tumor-initiating cell line derived from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) which is characterized by membrane expression of CD133, addition of exogenous NTS resulted in concomitant up-regulation of IL-8 and CXCL1 with simultaneous activation of MAPK and Raf-1, and promotion of angiogenesis, tumorigenesis, and self-renewal (Tang et al., 2012). This evidence concerns the gene CXCL1 and hepatocellular carcinoma.