Further flow-cytometric results revealed that the proportion of exhausted CD8+ T cells (i.e., PD-1+ or LAG-3+) was significantly decreased and CD8+ T cell activity (reflected by the proportion of IFNγ+ or Granzyme B+ (GzmB+) cells) was increased in HCC-bearing HKDC1 KO mice compared to that in tumor-bearing WT mice (Fig. 1c, d). Here, IFNG is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.