Simultaneously, they also had significant increases in the expressions of stiffness-sensor molecules (integrin β1, FAK) and metastasis-associated genes (MMP2, MMP9, CD44, and SPP1) (Fig. 1f, g), implying that high stiffness signal is transduced into HCC cells to strengthen their metastatic potential. Here, CD44 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.