SMO and neoplasm: To further understand the complex biological processes, such as cell motility and reversion of EMT, we analyzed the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-c, hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α), CD147 and Sonic hedgehog-Gli pathway components (SHH, Patch-1 and SMO) in co-cultured Bel-7402 cells, all of which are associated with tumor cell invasion and migration [29-32], as shown in (Additional file 5: Figure S3).