Afterwards, SAG (an agonist of Hedgehog pathway) was used to test the above speculation and then a series of experiments delineated that the addition of SAG could partially rescue circZNF609 knockdown-mediated function on HCC cell proliferation, metastasis, stemness, as well as cell apoptosis, which implied that the activation of Hedgehog pathway could promote HCC progression. The gene discussed is SAG; the disease is hepatocellular carcinoma.