Akt/PKB is known to regulate the facilitative glucose carrier GLUT4. Nothing is known, however, of the role of Akt/PKB in the regulation of renal epithelial transport. To explore whether Akt2/PKBβ influences the Na(+)-coupled glucose cotransporter SGLT1, human SGLT1 was expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes with or without Akt/PKB, and electrogenic glucose transport was determined by dual-electro...

The I(1)-imidazoline receptor is a novel target for drug development for hypertension and insulin resistance, major disorders associated with type 2 diabetes. In the present study, we examined the effects of a novel imidazoline agonist S43126, on phosphorylation of protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) in PC12 cells. We further examined the effects of S43...

Appropriate insulin secretion depends on beta-cell mass that is determined by the balance between cell proliferation and death. IGF-1 stimulates proliferation and protects against apoptosis. In contrast, glucocorticoids promote cell death. In this study we examined molecular interactions of the glucocorticoid dexamethasone (dexa) with IGF-1 signalling pathways in insulin secreting INS-1 cells. ...

the fact that most but not all Akt/PKB targets are still phosphorylated in mTORC2 knockout MEFs suggests that Ser473 phosphorylation determines Akt/PKB specificity rather than absolute activity. Second, since reduction in FoxO phosphorylation is the only observed Akt/ PKB signaling defect, does this defect alone account for the embryonic lethality? Akt/PKB negatively regulates FoxO. Reduced Fox...

BACKGROUND Medical practice trends and limitations in trainees' duty hours have diminished the interest and exposure of nephrology fellows to percutaneous kidney biopsy (PKB). We hypothesized that an integrated nephrology-pathology-led simulation may be an effective educational tool. MATERIALS AND METHODS A 4-hour PKB simulation workshop (KBSW), led by two ultrasonography (US)-trained nephrol...

Chemotaxis-competent cells respond to a variety of ligands by activating second messenger pathways leading to changes in the actin/myosin cytoskeleton and directed cell movement. We demonstrate that Dictyostelium Akt/PKB, a homologue of mammalian Akt/PKB, is very rapidly and transiently activated by the chemoattractant cAMP. This activation takes place through G protein-coupled chemoattractant ...

The effects of insulin on the mammalian target of rapamycin, mTOR, were investigated in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. mTOR protein kinase activity was measured in immune complex assays with recombinant PHAS-I as substrate. Insulin-stimulated kinase activity was clearly observed when immunoprecipitations were conducted with the mTOR antibody, mTAb2. Insulin also increased by severalfold the 32P content of ...

Protein kinase B (PKB) also known as Akt is involved in many signal transduction pathways. As alterations of the PKB pathway are found in a number of human malignancies, PKB is considered an important drug target for cancer therapy. However, production of sufficient amounts of active PKB for biochemical and structural studies is very costly because of the necessity of using a higher organism ex...

Glucokinase plays a key role in the regulation of glucose utilization in liver and its expression is strongly enhanced by insulin and modulated by venous pO(2). In primary rat hepatocytes, pO(2) modulated insulin-dependent glucokinase (GK) gene expression was abolished by wortmannin an inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). Transfection of vectors encoding the p110 catalytic subunit...

Ionizing radiation induces an intracellular stress response via activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3K)/Akt survival pathway. In tumor cells, the PI3K/Akt pathway is induced through activation of members of ErbB receptor tyrosine kinases. Here, we investigated the receptor dependence of radiation-induced PI3K/Akt activation in tumor cells and in endothelial cells. The integrity ...