FOXO3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Given that patient data suggested a connection between FOXO3 and autophagy induction in HCC, and that our sorafenib-resistant models displayed FOXO3 upregulation, we then analyzed the direct effect of FOXO3 knockdown by siRNA transfection on the enhanced basal autophagy of HepG2S1 and HepG2S3.