We also found that N-S and rhHMGB1 treatment induced cancer cells to express cancer stem cell marker CD133 (Fig. 4e), which can be inhibited by either silencing the HMGB1 gene in the secreting cells (HMGB1−/−-S group) or adding HMGB1 inhibitor in the supernatant (N-S + EP group). This evidence concerns the gene HMGB1 and cancer.