In addition, Western blot assay revealed that HCC cells treated with extrinsic HGF (Huh7-HGF and Hepa1-6-HGF cells) showed typical EMT phenotypes i.e. downregulation of E-cadherin and upregulation of vimentin and N-Cadherin (Additional file 3: Figure S2). Here, CDH1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.