HGF and avian influenza: These data confirmed the presence of hypercytokinemia, also known as a “cytokine storm”, in patients infected with the H7N9 virus and discovered 18 novel hypercytokinemia factors that were elevated in these patients, including MIF, SCF, HGF, SCGF-β, IL-18, β-NGF, SDF-1α, CTACK, IL-1ra, IL-9, G-CSF, IL-7, IL-5, GM-CSF, VEGF, IL-13, basic-FGF and PDGF-bb elevated in avian influenza infected patients plasmas.