In the follow-up study, the weights of subcutaneous tumours generated from these engineered HCC cells in nude mice were also significantly decreased after downregulation of HMGB1 expression in the presence of WISP2 overexpression, indicating that HMGB1 is one of the key factors involved in reducing the anticancer efficiency of WISP2. Here, CCN5 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.