To rule out the up-regulation of IL-8 induced by G6PD deficiency in HepG2 cell was merely a cell-specific observation, the IL-8 level of other G6PD-deficient cells (SK-Hep1 hepatoma cells and HFF fibroblasts) was analyzed by qRT-PCR (Figure 3). This evidence concerns the gene CXCL8 and hepatocellular carcinoma.