SOX9 and hepatocellular carcinoma: To further test whether GDF1 can induce HCC cells toward their ancestral lineage, representative hepatic markers Albumin (ALB), Alcohol dehydrogenase 1 (ADH1), Arginase 1 (ARG1), Transthyretin (TTR), and liver progenitor markers AFP, Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule (EPCAM), KRT19, SOX9, and KRT7 were examined in PLC-8024 and Huh7 cells transfected with GDF1 or a control vector.