BNIP3L and liver cancer: Studies have found that the HBV X protein (HBx), encoded by the HBV X gene for HBV replication, transactivats HIF-1α, inducing BCL2 Interacting Protein 3 Like (BNIP3L)-dependent mitophagy and upregulating glycolytic metabolic reprogramming, thereby enhancing the liver cancer stem cell phenotype (79).