This prediction was confirmed in the murine epithelial HCC P2E cell line and in the human epithelial-like HCC cell lines Huh7 and PLC/PRF/5: upon exposure to TGFβ, GLI2 mRNA (indicative of SHH signaling) and AXIN2 protein levels (indicative of Wnt signaling) were both increased to similar levels as in related mesenchymal cell lines (57). Here, AXIN2 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.