STK11 and hepatocellular carcinoma: To confirm our hypothesis that Naa20 regulates the AMPK–mTOR axis through LKB1, which contributes to cell growth and autophagy, Naa20 was transiently silenced by RNAi in HCC cell lines, and the AMPK–mTOR signaling pathway, cell proliferation rate, and autophagy activation levels were then assessed in these cell lines.