POU5F1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: The qRT-PCR analysis of clinical HCC samples revealed a significant upregulation of CSCs markers, including CD24, EPCAM, CD44, and ALDH1A1, as well as stemness-associated genes such as POU5F1, SOX2, and NANOG in HCC tissues compared to normal liver tissues (Figure 7A,B).