Notably, chemical AKT inhibitors were reported to inhibit tumor-intrinsic phenotypes and PD-L1 transcription70,71, but WSX1 has no significant effect on either PD-L1 mRNA or HCC cell proliferation and migration, indicating a unique regulatory characteristic of WSX1 on AKT/GSK3β/PD-L1 signaling that cannot be mimicked by traditional chemical inhibitors. Here, AKT1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.