Among these, FGF19 has been implicated in HCC development in humans45, 46 and in HCC cell proliferation and migration,46 as its expression has been suggested to be an independent prognostic factor for overall and disease-free survival.46 Of interest, we also found that NUPR1 gene silencing sharply downregulates BMP7. This gene has been reported to be overexpressed in HCC and may be considered as a biomarker for poor prognosis in HCC.33 Moreover, in another study Lu et al.47 demonstrated that overexpression of BMP7 gene increases HCC cell viability and migration. This evidence concerns the gene BMP7 and hepatocellular carcinoma.