GJA1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: To study in more detail whether upregulation of Cx43 also inhibits the cell proliferation of HuH-7 cells, which are derived from human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HCCs) and express endogenous Cx43, HuH-7 cells were transfected with increased level of Cx43-expressing vector, Cx43-mRFP.