What is Akt gene?
Protein kinase B (PKB), also known as Akt, is the collective name of a set of three serine/threonine-specific protein kinases that play key roles in multiple cellular processes such as glucose metabolism, apoptosis, cell proliferation, transcription, and cell migration.
What is Akt activated by?
Akt is activated downstream of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in endothelial cells in the lining of blood vessels, promoting survival and growth. Akt also contributes to angiogenesis by activating endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), which increases production of nitric oxide (NO).
Is Akt a tumor suppressor?
Several of these proteins (AKT, eIF4E, and both the p110α catalytic and p85α regulatory subunits of PI3K) can behave as oncoproteins when activated or overexpressed, while others (PTEN, FOXO, LKB1, TSC2/TSC1, NF1, and VHL) are tumor suppressors.
Is Akt a gene?
The Akt gene is the cellular homolog of the v-akt oncogene transduced by AKT8, an acute transforming retrovirus in mice that was originally described in 1977 (Staal et al., 1977). In 1991, three independent research groups cloned and characterized Akt kinases.
What does Akt do?
PKB/Akt phosphorylates and regulates the function of many cellular proteins involved in processes that include metabolism, apoptosis, and proliferation. Recent evidence indicates that PKB/Akt is frequently constitutively active in many types of human cancer.
Does Akt promote cell survival?
Akt has been shown to directly phosphorylate and inactivate the Forkhead transcription factor family member FKHRL1, resulting in decreased Fas ligand transcription and promoting cell survival (Brunet et al., 1999).
Does Akt inhibit cell proliferation?
The Akt family of serine/threonine protein kinases are key regulators of multiple aspects of cell behaviour, including proliferation, survival, metabolism, and tumorigenesis.