NANOG and neoplasm: Nicotine-induced upregulation of the RNA-binding protein interleukin enhancer-binding factor 2 (ILF2) promotes the stabilization and expression of SOX2, NANOG, and SALL4 by facilitating nuclear mRNA export and inhibiting hMTR4-mediated degradation, which enhances the stemness and tumor-initiating capacity of esophageal cancer cells (Li et al. 2021).