TGFB1 and neoplasm: However, in HCC, Piezo1 did not affect the expression of AKT and phosphorylated AKT; instead, it promoted tumor progression by recruiting the ras-related protein Rab-5C (Rab5c) while activating TGF-β signaling, thus showing the possibility of different downstream target genes of Piezo1 in different cell types [37].