The PIK3CA gene is frequently mutated in human cancers. Here we carry out a SILAC-based quantitative phosphoproteomic analysis using isogenic knockin cell lines containing 'driver' oncogenic mutations of PIK3CA to dissect the signalling mechanisms responsible for oncogenic phenotypes induced by mutant PIK3CA. From 8,075 unique phosphopeptides identified, we observe that aberrant activation of P...

AKT is a kinase regulating numerous cellular processes in the brain, and mutations in AKT are known to affect brain function. AKT is indirectly implicated in synaptic plasticity, but its direct role has not been studied. Moreover, three highly related AKT isoforms are expressed in the brain, but their individual roles are poorly understood. We find in Mus musculus, each AKT isoform has a unique...

Increasing evidence has shown that microRNAs play critical roles in the initiation and progression of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). miR-185 is deregulated in various cancers, whereas its functional mechanism in NSCLC is still unclear. Here, we confirmed that the expression of miR-185 was significantly down-regulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. miR-185 over-expression caused significa...

Potassium (K(+)) is a major plant nutrient required for growth and development. It is generally accepted that plant roots absorb K(+) through uptake systems operating at low concentrations (high-affinity transport) and/or high external concentrations (low-affinity transport). To understand the molecular basis of high-affinity K(+) uptake in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), we analyzed loss-o...

Pulmonary vascular remodeling, mainly attributable to enhanced pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration, is a major cause for elevated pulmonary vascular resistance and pulmonary arterial pressure in patients with pulmonary hypertension. The signaling cascade through Akt, comprised of three isoforms (Akt1-3) with distinct but overlapping functions, is involved in regula...

Abstract Background and Aims Hyperuricemia is an essential risk factor in chronic kidney disease (CKD), while urate-lowering therapy to prevent or delay CKD progression controversial. Alternatively activated macrophages response local microenvironment play diverse roles injury, repair, fibrosis. Here, we aim investigate whether how macrophage ITGAM contributes hyperuricemia-related CKD. Method ...

3-Phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1 (PDK1) is a mediator of multiple signaling pathways coupled to growth factor receptor activation in human cancers. To evaluate the role of PDK1 in mammary gland oncogenesis, COMMA-1D mouse mammary epithelial cells were retrovirally transduced with PDK1, and transformation was measured by anchorage-independent growth in soft agar. PDK1-expressing cel...

Impaired insulin signaling via phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt to endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in the vasculature has been postulated to lead to arterial dysfunction and hypertension in obesity and other insulin resistant states. To investigate this, we compared insulin signaling in the vasculature, endothelial function, and systemic blood pressure in mice fed a high-fat (HF) diet...

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an essential physiologic process that promotes cancer cell migration, invasion, and metastasis. Several lines of evidence from both cellular and genetic studies suggest that AKT1/PKBα, but not AKT2 or AKT3, serves as a negative regulator of EMT and breast cancer metastasis. However, the underlying mechanism by which AKT1 suppresses EMT remains poorl...

Marked up-regulation of aldose reductase (AR) is reportedly associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated how aberrantly overexpressed AR might promote oncogenic transformation in liver cells and tissues. We found that overexpressed AR interacted with the kinase domain of AKT1 to increase AKT/mTOR signaling. In both cultured liver cancer cells and liver tiss...