AKAP3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Compared to the NC group, PI3K, AKT/pAKT, and mTOR/pmTOR expressions significantly increased, and PTEN (an inhibitor of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling) expression decreased in Oe-AKAP3-transfected HCC-1937 cells (Figure 5(a)).