TIMP3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: In HCC cells treated with AIF, the number of HCC cells with invasion and migration ability was significantly reduced, the protein expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) were significantly reduced, while the expression level of metalloproteinases-3 (TIMP3) was significantly increased, indicating that AIF inhibited the migration and invasion of HCC cells.