In quiescent HSCs, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MARK) is strongly phosphorylated, thus activating NF-kB and extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) cascade signaling pathways (24), leading to an increased release of IL8, which promotes the invasion and metastasis of hepatoma (25, 26). The gene discussed is CXCL8; the disease is hepatocellular carcinoma.