Secreted DLK1 was suggested to have paracrine functions, that is, inducing the secretion of inflammatory cytokines, such as TNFα and IL6 in monocytes and adipocytes.38 Recently, p62 expression was shown to promote liver disease by amplifying inflammatory processes.9, 11, 39, 40, 41 HCC mostly develops within an inflammatory environment, such as viral hepatitis, ASH and NASH, and inflammatory mediators promote hepatocarcinogenesis.19 We here present a transgenic mouse model, which develops HCC out of an inflammatory state involving elevated IL6 and TNFα productions. Here, DLK1 is linked to animal viral hepatitis.