TGFB1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Although the data show that fibrosis and HCC can develop in a setting of a depleted canonical TGF-β pathway, it does not prove that, on the other hand, a functional TGF-β pathway that is activated in a cell context–dependent manner with respective responses, which may significantly contribute to disease development and progression, as impressively demonstrated in the work of Seki and coworkers81,82 above.