EPCAM and hepatocellular carcinoma: To validate the findings based on qPCR results, our western-blot results also confirmed the remarkably downregulation at the protein levels of these three markers as well as CD90 and EpCAM, another two CSCs maker of HCC, based on CRBP-1 overexpression in both PLC/PRF/5 and Huh7 cells (Fig. 3D).