MST1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Previously, we demonstrated that MSP activates AMPK signaling in the human hepatoma cell line HepG2 and in primary rat hepatocytes.8 In primary mouse hepatocytes, we confirmed that 5–60 min incubations with MSP (100 ng ml−1) enhanced the phosphorylation of AMPK and of the downstream AMPK target acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC) via the phosphorylation and activation of the RON receptor (Figure 1a).