To avoid selection of HCC lines that may not accurately reflect the effects of FBXL6 deletion, we also constructed FBXL6 knock out (KO) SMMC-7721 cell line using CRISPR-Cas9 technology, and found that FBXL6 deficiency decreased proliferation and colony formation compared with the control wild type (WT) cells (Fig. 2f-h). This evidence concerns the gene FBXL6 and hepatocellular carcinoma.