It was also shown that, as liver cancer progresses, the beneficial effect of stimulatory NKG2D immune responses can be also inhibited by increased expression of inhibitory receptors influenced by tumor-related metabolic disruption (tumor glycolysis and oxidative metabolism) and by tissue/cell mechanical properties, such as pathological conditions that drastically alter tissue stiffness, such as HCC [186,187,188]. This evidence concerns the gene KLRK1 and hepatocellular carcinoma.