Abbreviations :
AKT name of a cell line, BAD Bcl associated death promoter, Bcl2 B cell lymphoma gene 2,
GSK glycogen synthase kinase, IKK inhibitor of NFKB kinase, ILGFR insulin like growth factor receptor,
mTOR mammalian target of Rapamycin, PI3K phosphoinositide 3 kinase, PKB protein kinase B,
PTEN phosphatase and tensin homolog, Wnt wingless (fruit fly mutation)
Akt is a cornerstone of cell survival :
- Akt inhibits BAD, which activates apoptosis
(pAKT blocks the anti-apoptotic role of Bcl2)
- Akt inhibits GSK, and thus Cyclin D which
favors cell division.
Activation of Akt :
- often by mutation
- is enhanced when ILGFR is activated
by ILGF
- is inhibited by PTEN (which can be inactive in endometrial, thyroid, breast cancers , glioblastoma, sarcomas).
level, but acts through many intermediaries,
as a transcription activator of oncogenic factors
