CXCL12 and Stroke: More specifically, C-X-C motif ligand 12 (CXCL12, also known as SDF-1α) expression increases in the infarct area after AMI or stroke, and then triggers the migration of CXCR4+ inflammatory cells [10,11,12] and CXCR4+ endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) [13,14,15,16] to the lesioned sites.