TGFB1I1 and infection: To validate the role of Hic-5 in HCC progression, HCC329, HCC372 and HCC353 (the HCCs with high Hic-5) stably depleted of Hic-5, denoted as HCC329Hic-5(−), HCC372 Hic-5(−), and HCC353 Hic-5(−), respectively, were established by infection of the cells with a pseudoviral particle containing Hic-5 shRNA sequence inserted within a lentiviral vector.