LINC01857 and hepatocellular carcinoma: To confirm that LINC01857 could mediate HCC by sponging miR-197-3p, functional rescue assays were conducted as miR-197-3p expression was downregulated in HepG2 cells with silenced LINC01857 (all p<0.01) (Fig 4A) to evaluate cell proliferation and apoptosis.