Protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) is a well-established regulator of several essential cellular processes. Here, we report a route by which activated PKB promotes survival in response to DNA insults in vivo. PKB activation following DNA damage requires 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1) and DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK). Active PKB localizes in the nucleus of gamma-irradiated cells a...

Although the interaction of matrix proteins with integrins is known to initiate signaling pathways that are essential for cell survival, a role for tumor suppressors in the regulation of these pathways has not been established. We demonstrate here that p53 can inhibit the survival function of integrins by inducing the caspase-dependent cleavage and inactivation of the serine/threonine kinase AK...

Protein kinase B (PKB) has emerged as the focal point for many signal transduction pathways, regulating multiple cellular processes such as glucose metabolism, transcription, apoptosis, cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and cell motility. In addition to acting as a kinase toward many substrates involved in these processes, PKB forms complexes with other proteins that are not substrates, but rat...

Protein kinase B (PKB) is a proto-oncogene that is activated in signaling pathways initiated by phosphoinositide 3-kinase. Chromatographic separation of brain cytosol revealed a kinase activity that phosphorylated and activated PKB only in the presence of phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate [PtdIns(3,4,5)P3]. Phosphorylation occurred exclusively on threonine-308, a residue implicated in ac...

OBJECTIVE Abnormal expression of the hepatic gluconeogenic genes (glucose-6-phosphatase [G6Pase] and PEPCK) contributes to hyperglycemia. These genes are repressed by insulin, but this process is defective in diabetic subjects. Protein kinase B (PKB) is implicated in this action of insulin. An inhibitor of PKB, Akt inhibitor (Akti)-1/2, was recently reported; however, the specificity and effica...

BACKGROUND While evidence suggested that the activity states of Protein kinase B (AKT/PKB) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) play an important role in the progression of the Growth Hormone (GH) signal cascade, the implication of the activation of AKT/PKB and eNOS in terms of their function in the signaling pathway was not clear. RESULTS Using a specific AKT/PKB inhibitor and a func...

Involvement of Akt/Protein kinase B (PKB), a serine/threonine kinase with a pleckstrin-homology domain, in angiotensin II (ANG II)-induced signal transduction was investigated in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). Stimulation of the cells with ANG II led to a marked increase in the kinase activity of Akt/PKB, which coincided with Ser-473 phosphorylation. ANG II-stimulated Akt/PKB act...

BACKGROUND The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway is involved in neuroblastoma development where Akt/PKB activation is associated with poor prognosis. PI3K activity subsequently activates Akt/PKB, and as mutations of PI3K are rare in neuroblastoma and high levels of PI3K subunit p110delta is associated with favorable disease with low p-Akt/PKB, the levels of other PI3K subunits could ...

Limited number of hematopoietic stem cells in umbilical cord blood (UCB) presents a problem when using UCB for stem cell transplantation. Improving their homing capacity could reduce the need for high initial cell numbers during transplantation procedures. Although it is evident that protein kinase B (PKB/c-Akt) plays an important role in regulation of migration of various cell types, a role fo...