Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P31749 (AKT)
 22,954 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Insulin activated endogenous protein kinase B alpha (also known as RAC/Akt kinase) activity 12-fold in L6 myotubes, while after transfection into 293 cells PKBalpha was activated 20- and 50-fold in response to insulin and IGF-1 respectively. In both cells, the activation of PKBalpha was accompanied by its phosphorylation at Thr308 and Ser473 and, like activation, phosphorylation of both of these residues was prevented by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor wortmannin. Thr308 and/or Ser473 were mutated to Ala or Asp and activities of mutant PKBalpha molecules were analysed after transfection into 293 cells. The activity of wild-type and mutant PKBalpha was also measured in vitro after stoichiometric phosphorylation of Ser473 by MAPKAP kinase-2. These experiments demonstrated that activation of PKBalpha by insulin or insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) results from phosphorylation of both Thr308 and Ser473, that phosphorylation of both residues is critical to generate a high level of PKBalpha activity and that the phosphorylation of Thr308 in vivo is not dependent on phosphorylation of Ser473 or vice versa. We propose a model whereby PKBalpha becomes phosphorylated and activated in insulin/IGF-1-stimulated cells by an upstream kinase(s).
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PMID:Mechanism of activation of protein kinase B by insulin and IGF-1. 897 81

293 cells were transfected with wild-type GSK3beta (WT-GSK3beta) or a mutant in which the PKB phosphorylation site (Ser-9) was altered to Ala (A9-GSK3beta). Upon stimulation with IGF-1 or insulin, WT-GSK3beta was inhibited 75% or 60%, respectively, whereas the activity of the A9-GSK3beta mutant was unaffected. Incubation of WT-GSK3beta with PP2A1 (a Ser/Thr-specific phosphatase) completely reversed the IGF-1- or insulin-induced inhibition. IGF-1 stimulation did not induce any tyrosine dephosphorylation of WT-GSK3beta or A9-GSK3beta. Coexpression of WT-GSK3beta in 293 cells with either PKB alpha (also known as AKT) or PDK1 (the 'upstream' activator of PKB) mimicked the IGF-1- or insulin-induced phosphorylation of Ser-9 and inactivation of GSK3beta.
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PMID:Further evidence that the inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta by IGF-1 is mediated by PDK1/PKB-induced phosphorylation of Ser-9 and not by dephosphorylation of Tyr-216. 937 75

L6 myoblasts stably transfected with a GLUT4 cDNA harboring an exofacial myc epitope tag (L6-GLUT4myc myoblasts) were used to study the role of protein kinase B alpha (PKBalpha)/Akt1 in the insulin-induced translocation of GLUT4 to the cell surface. Surface GLUT4myc was detected by immunofluorescent labeling of the myc epitope in nonpermeabilized cells. Insulin induced a marked translocation of GLUT4myc to the plasma membrane within 20 min. This was prevented by transient transfection of a dominant inhibitory construct of phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase (Deltap85alpha). Transiently transfected cells were identified by cotransfection of green fluorescent protein. A constitutively active PKBalpha, created by fusion of a viral Gag protein at its N terminus (GagPKB), increased the cell surface density of GLUT4myc compared to that of neighboring nontransfected cells. A kinase-inactive, phosphorylation-deficient PKBalpha/Akt1 construct with the mutations K179A (substitution of alanine for the lysine at position 179), T308A, and S473A (AAA-PKB) behaved as a dominant-negative inhibitor of insulin-dependent activation of cotransfected wild-type hemagglutinin (HA)-tagged PKB. Furthermore, AAA-PKB markedly inhibited the insulin-induced phosphorylation of cotransfected BAD, demonstrating inhibition of the endogenous PKB/Akt. Under the same conditions, AAA-PKB almost entirely blocked the insulin-dependent increase in surface GLUT4myc. PKBalpha with alanine substitutions T308A and S473A (AA-PKB) or K179A (A-PKB) alone was a less potent inhibitor of insulin-dependent activation of wild-type HA-PKB or GLUT4myc translocation than was AAA-PKB. Cotransfection of AAA-PKB with a fourfold DNA excess of HA-PKB rescued insulin-stimulated GLUT4myc translocation. AAA-PKB did not prevent actin bundling (membrane ruffling), though this response was PI 3-kinase dependent. Therefore, it is unlikely that AAA-PKB acted by inhibiting PI 3-kinase signaling. These results outline an important role for PKBalpha/Akt1 in the stimulation of glucose transport by insulin in muscle cells in culture.
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PMID:Protein kinase B/Akt participates in GLUT4 translocation by insulin in L6 myoblasts. 1033 Jan 41

Cysteine residues 86 and 91 of the beta subunit of the human interleukin (hIL)-3 receptor (hbetac) participate in disulfide-linked receptor subunit heterodimerization. This linkage is essential for receptor tyrosine phosphorylation, since the Cys-86 --> Ala (Mc4) and Cys-91 --> Ala (Mc5) mutations abolished both events. Here, we used these mutants to examine whether disulfide-linked receptor dimerization affects the biological and biochemical activities of the IL-3 receptor. Murine T cells expressing hIL-3Ralpha and Mc4 or Mc5 did not proliferate in hIL-3, whereas cells expressing wild-type hbetac exhibited rapid proliferation. However, a small subpopulation of cells expressing each mutant could be selected for growth in IL-3, and these proliferated similarly to cells expressing wild-type hbetac, despite failing to undergo IL-3-stimulated hbetac tyrosine phosphorylation. The Mc4 and Mc5 mutations substantially reduced, but did not abrogate, IL-3-mediated anti-apoptotic activity in the unselected populations. Moreover, the mutations abolished IL-3-induced JAK2, STAT, and AKT activation in the unselected cells, whereas activation of these molecules in IL-3-selected cells was normal. In contrast, Mc4 and Mc5 showed a limited effect on activation of Erk1 and -2 in unselected cells. These data suggest that whereas disulfide-mediated cross-linking and hbetac tyrosine phosphorylation are normally important for receptor activation, alternative mechanisms can bypass these requirements.
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PMID:The role of disulfide-linked dimerization in interleukin-3 receptor signaling and biological activity. 1067 57

The microbially derived antiproliferative agent rapamycin inhibits cell growth by interfering with the signaling functions of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). In this study, we demonstrate that interleukin-3 stimulation induces a wortmannin-sensitive increase in mTOR kinase activity in a myeloid progenitor cell line. The involvement of phosphoinositide 3'-kinase (PI3K) in the regulation of mTOR activity was further suggested by findings that mTOR was phosphorylated in vitro and in vivo by the PI3K-regulated protein kinase, AKT/PKB. Although AKT phosphorylated mTOR at two COOH-terminal sites (Thr2446 and Ser2448) in vitro, Ser2448 was the major phosphorylation site in insulin-stimulated or -activated AKT-expressing human embryonic kidney cells. Transient transfection assays with mTOR mutants bearing Ala substitutions at Ser2448 and/or Thr2446 indicated that AKT-dependent mTOR phosphorylation was not essential for either PHAS-I phosphorylation or p70S6K activation in HEK cells. However, a deletion of amino acids 2430-2450 in mTOR, which includes the potential AKT phosphorylation sites, significantly increased both the basal protein kinase activity and in vivo signaling functions of mTOR. These results demonstrate that mTOR is a direct target of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway in mitogen-stimulated cells, and that the identified AKT phosphorylation sites are nested within a "repressor domain" that negatively regulates the catalytic activity of mTOR. Furthermore, the activation status of the PI3K-AKT pathway in cancer cells may be an important determinant of cellular sensitivity to the cytostatic effect of rapamycin.
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PMID:A direct linkage between the phosphoinositide 3-kinase-AKT signaling pathway and the mammalian target of rapamycin in mitogen-stimulated and transformed cells. 1091 62

Protein kinase B/Akt (PKB/Akt) is a member of the ACG kinase family, which also includes protein kinase C, that phosphorylates a number of 14-3-3-binding proteins. 14-3-3 protein regulation of protein kinase C activity is modulated by 14-3-3 phosphorylation. We examined the hypothesis that PKB/Akt interacts with and phosphorylates 14-3-3zeta, leading to modulation of dimerization. By glutathione S-transferase pull-down, Akt precipitated recombinant 14-3-3zeta and endogenous 14-3-3zeta from HEK293 cell lysates. Recombinant active PKB/Akt phosphorylated recombinant 14-3-3zeta in an in vitro kinase assay. Transfection of active PKB/Akt into HEK293 cells resulted in phosphorylation of 14-3-3zeta. Based on a motif search of 14-3-3zeta, a potential PKB/Akt phosphorylation site, Ser-58, was mutated to alanine. PKB/Akt was unable to phosphorylate this mutant protein. Incubation of 14-3-3zeta with recombinant active PKB/Akt resulted in phosphorylation of 45% of the protein, as determined by a pI shift on two-dimensional electrophoresis, but 14-3-3zeta dimerization was not altered. These data indicate that PKB/Akt phosphorylates Ser-58 on 14-3-3zeta both in vitro and in intact cells. The functional relevance of this phosphorylation remains to be determined.
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PMID:Identification of 14-3-3zeta as a protein kinase B/Akt substrate. 1195 22

Integrins are cell surface heterodimeric transmembrane receptors that, in addition to mediating cell adhesion to extracellular matrix proteins modulate cell survival. This mechanism may be exploited in cancer where evasion from apoptosis invariably contributes to cellular transformation. The molecular mechanisms responsible for matrix-induced survival signals begin to be elucidated. Here we report that the inhibitor of apoptosis survivin is expressed in vitro in human prostate cell lines with the highest levels present in aggressive prostate cancer cells such as PC3 and LNCaP-LN3 as well as in vivo in prostatic adenocarcinoma. We also show that interference with survivin in PC3 prostate cancer cells using a Cys84--> Ala dominant negative mutant or survivin antisense cDNA causes nuclear fragmentation, hypodiploidy, cleavage of a 32-kDa proform caspase-3 to active caspase-3, and proteolysis of the caspase substrate poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. We demonstrate that in the aggressive PC3 cell line, adhesion to fibronectin via beta1 integrins results in up-regulation of survivin and protection from apoptosis induced by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). In contrast, survivin is not up-regulated by cell adhesion in the non-tumorigenic LNCaP cell line. Dominant negative survivin counteracts the ability of fibronectin to protect cells from undergoing apoptosis, whereas wild-type survivin protects non-adherent cells from TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis. Evidence is provided that expression of beta1A integrin is necessary to protect non-adherent cells transduced with survivin from TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis. In contrast, the beta1C integrin, which contains a variant cytoplasmic domain, is not able to prevent apoptosis induced by TNF-alpha in non-adherent cells transduced with survivin. Finally, we show that regulation of survivin levels by integrins are mediated by protein kinase B/AKT. These findings indicate that survivin is required to maintain a critical anti-apoptotic threshold in prostate cancer cells and identify integrin signaling as a crucial survival pathway against death receptor-mediated apoptosis.
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PMID:Fibronectin protects prostate cancer cells from tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced apoptosis via the AKT/survivin pathway. 1452 21

Thalidomide has been shown to be an effective treatment in various immunologic diseases such as Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Its major effect is thought to be mediated by the inhibition of TNF-alpha, but the exact mechanism of action is still uncertain. Recent observations could demonstrate that the induction of monocyte apoptosis is a common feature of a variety of anti-inflammatory agents. Therefore, we investigated the role of thalidomide on monocyte apoptosis. Treatment with thalidomide resulted in apoptosis of human peripheral blood monocytes in a time- and dose-dependent manner as demonstrated by annexin V staining. Monocyte apoptosis required the activation of caspases, as combined stimulation by thalidomide together with the broad caspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethyl ketone markedly prevented monocyte cell death. Apoptosis was triggered by a CD95/CD95 ligand, TNF-RI, and TRAIL-R1 independent pathway with an inhibition of AKT-1 kinase and consecutive mitochondrial release of cytochrome c, followed by the proteolytic activation of initiator caspase-9 and effector caspase-3. Our data suggest that thalidomide-induced monocyte apoptosis is at least partially mediated by a mitochondrial signaling pathway and might contribute to the complex immunomodulatory properties of the drug.
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PMID:Thalidomide induces apoptosis in human monocytes by using a cytochrome c-dependent pathway. 1506 94

Proliferation, differentiation, and survival of hematopoietic cells are regulated by cytokines, acting through specific receptors. FLT3 ligand (FL) is one of the most important cytokines for regulation of the hematopoietic system, and its receptor FLT3 is expressed on both stem cells and progenitors. Regulation of Forkhead transcription factors has been described as an important mechanism to control apoptosis and cell cycle progression in hematopoietic progenitors. Here we report that FL induces AKT/PKB activation, which in turn phosphorylates and thereby inactivates the Forkhead protein FoxO3 in the progenitor cell line FDC-P1 stably expressing murine FLT3 receptor. Phosphorylation of AKT and FoxO3 was blocked by the PI-3 kinase inhibitor LY294002 but not by the MAP kinase inhibitor PD98059. Expression of a mutated FoxO3, in which all three inhibitory phosphorylation sites were mutated to alanine, led to rapid increase of apoptotic cells in the presence of FL. These results suggest that FL-induced regulation of apoptosis is executed by FoxO3.
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PMID:FLT3 ligand regulates apoptosis through AKT-dependent inactivation of transcription factor FoxO3. 1514 56

Resistance to antiandrogen therapy in patients with metastatic prostate cancer poses a major challenge, which, if overcome, may lead to significant advances in the treatment of these patients. Hormone resistance of prostate cancer develops, in part, from upregulation of antiapoptotic genes after androgen deprivation. Given the accumulating evidence that Survivin, a new member of the inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) family, is associated with both cancer progression and drug resistance, we hypothesized that Survivin plays a potentially important role in hormone therapy resistance, and that targeting of Survivin may enhance sensitivity to antiandrogen therapy in prostate cancer. Patterns of Survivin expression were assessed in three prostate cancer cell lines LNCaP, PC-3, and DU-145 using quantitative Western analysis. All three cell lines were found to strongly express Survivin. In LNCaP cells with intact androgen receptors (ARs), it was observed that androgen stimulation with 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) increased Survivin expression. Conversely, treatment with Flutamide decreased Survivin expression in LNCaP cells. We next studied the functional effect of Survivin on sensitivity to Flutamide. LNCaP cells were infected with replication-deficient adenoviruses encoding either wild-type Survivin pAd-S(WT) or a phosphorylation-defective Survivin Thr34 --> Ala dominant-negative mutant pAd-S(T34A), and then treated with Flutamide. Cell viability and apoptosis were assessed in vitro and in vivo. It was determined that Survivin can mediate resistance to such antiandrogen therapies based on our assays. Direct androgen stimulation resulted in pan-cell cycle expression of Survivin, which was found to be mediated by AKT, as it was determined that exogenous insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), a known activator of AKT signaling, could increase Survivin expression and result in pan-cell cycle expression even in AR-negative prostate cancer cell lines PC-3 and DU-145. Given this alternative mechanism of Survivin expression and our findings that Survivin can mediate resistance to Flutamide treatment, we further investigated whether IGF-1-mediated activation of Survivin via AKT could mediate resistance to antiandrogen therapy. Both in vitro and in vivo, this was found to be the case, supporting a novel mechanism of resistance to antiandrogen therapy. Our study indicates that upregulation of Survivin via IGF-1 signaling confers resistance to Flutamide in prostate cancer cells. Targeted inhibition of Survivin appears to enhance the therapeutic effects of Flutamide in vitro and in vivo, revealing a novel strategy to enhance sensitivity to androgen ablation therapy.
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PMID:Survivin mediates resistance to antiandrogen therapy in prostate cancer. 1573 3


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