Moreover, the up-regulation of some genes related to the stemness of cancer cells, such as EpCAM, CD133, CD44, Oct4, Nanog, KLF4 and Sox4, in USP16-depleted liver cancer cells also suggests a stemness-suppressing role for USP16 (Fig. 3E and Supplementary Fig. 3E). Here, EPCAM is linked to liver cancer.