In wild-type (WT) cells, LncSox4 overexpression significantly promoted tumour initiation, while LncSox4 overexpression failed to promote tumour formation in Sox4 knockout cells, validating the critical role of Sox4 in LncSox4-mediated liver TIC activation (Fig. 3e, Supplementary Table 1E). This evidence concerns the gene SOX4 and neoplasm.