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Kinase Is Frequently Elevated in Human Cancers and Its Constitutive Activation Is Required for Oncogenic Transformation in NIH3T3 Cells


From the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the
Molecular Oncology Program,*
University of South Florida
College of Medicine and H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida;
the Cancer Research Department,
Berlex
Biosciences, Richmond, California; and the Kimmel Cancer
Center,
Thomas Jefferson University,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Extensive studies have demonstrated that the Akt/AKT1 pathway is essential for cell survival and inhibition of apoptosis; however, alterations of Akt/AKT1 in human primary tumors have not been well documented. In this report, significantly increased AKT1 kinase activity was detected in primary carcinomas of prostate (16 of 30), breast (19 of 50), and ovary (11 of 28). The results were confirmed by Western blot and immunohistochemical staining analyses with phospho-Ser473 Akt antibody. The majority of AKT1-activated tumors are high grade and stage III/lV (13 of 16 prostate, 15 of 19 breast, and 8 of 11 ovarian carcinomas). Previous studies showed that wild-type AKT1 was unable to transform NIH3T3 cells. To demonstrate the biological significance of AKT1 activation in human cancer, constitutively activated AKT1 (Myr-Akt) was introduced into NIH3T3 cells. Overexpression of Myr-Akt in the stably transfected cells resulted in malignant phenotype, as determined by growth in soft agar and tumor formation in nude mice. These data indicate that AKT1 kinase, which is frequently activated in human cancer, is a determinant in oncogenesis and a potential target for cancer intervention.
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T. M. Gritsko, D. Coppola, J. E. Paciga, L. Yang, M. Sun, S. A. Shelley, J. V. Fiorica, S. V. Nicosia, and J. Q. Cheng Activation and Overexpression of Centrosome Kinase BTAK/Aurora-A in Human Ovarian Cancer Clin. Cancer Res., April 1, 2003; 9(4): 1420 - 1426. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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H. Kurokawa and C. L. Arteaga ErbB (HER) Receptors Can Abrogate Antiestrogen Action in Human Breast Cancer by Multiple Signaling Mechanisms Clin. Cancer Res., January 1, 2003; 9(1): 511S - 515S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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H. C. Dan, M. Sun, L. Yang, R. I. Feldman, X.-M. Sui, C. C. Ou, M. Nellist, R. S. Yeung, D. J. J. Halley, S. V. Nicosia, et al. Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase/Akt Pathway Regulates Tuberous Sclerosis Tumor Suppressor Complex by Phosphorylation of Tuberin J. Biol. Chem., September 13, 2002; 277(38): 35364 - 35370. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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K. Moelling, K. Schad, M. Bosse, S. Zimmermann, and M. Schweneker Regulation of Raf-Akt Cross-talk J. Biol. Chem., August 16, 2002; 277(34): 31099 - 31106. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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X. Zeng, H. Xu, and R. I. Glazer Transformation of Mammary Epithelial Cells by 3-Phosphoinositide-dependent Protein Kinase-1 (PDK1) Is Associated with the Induction of Protein Kinase C{alpha} Cancer Res., June 1, 2002; 62(12): 3538 - 3543. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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J. R. Testa and A. Bellacosa AKT plays a central role in tumorigenesis PNAS, September 25, 2001; 98(20): 10983 - 10985. [Full Text] [PDF] |
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