CXCR4 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Specifically, we have found that expression of AFP occurs prior to upregulation of the oncogenes Src and Ras. In both cirrhotic and HCC liver tissues, in which AFP is significantly upregulated, Co-IP analyses revealed that AFP interacts with PTEN, stimulates pAKT(Ser473) and p-mTOR(Ser2448) expression, and enhances the binding of HIF-1α to the promoters of Src, Ras, and CXCR4.