Meanwhile, the results of Western blot revealed that the expression of HOBX9, as well as the markers of TGF-β1 signaling, including Smad7, Smurf2, TGF-β1, and p-Smad2, was highly expressed in HCC tissues compared with those in the nontumor tissues. This evidence concerns the gene SMURF2 and hepatocellular carcinoma.