CD44 and hepatocellular carcinoma: To confirm that decreased RIG-I in HcPCs promotes hepatocarcinogenesis, especially in the stages from HcPCs to established HCC, we isolated CD44+ HcPCs from the livers of Rig-If/f and Rig-Ihep−/− mice five months post-DEN injection, and determined that IL-6-induced STAT3 activation was enhanced by RIG-I deficiency in HcPCs (Fig. 2h).