SPINT2 and hepatocellular carcinoma: SPINT2 down-regulation in liver has been reported to contribute to the development of HCC by the binding and inhibition of the serine protease HGFA which transforms Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) into its active form which in turn promotes metastasis, cell growth and angiogenesis [17, 66] and the same mechanism has been suggested for rCCC [12].