Editorials: Cell Cycle Features

Akt: A double-edged sword for hematopoietic stem cells

Volume 9, Issue 7   April 1, 2010
Pages 1223 - 1224
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/cc.9.7.11362
Authors: Michael G. Kharas and Kira Gritsman

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Abstract:
The phosphotidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway is dysregulated in a wide range of malignancies, including leukemia, and several members of this pathway are attractive therapeutic targets in oncology1. Although Akt is constitutively phosphorylated in up to 90% of cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), its role in AML has been unclear2. In some cases, Akt activation is attributed to activation of tyrosine kinases, such as BCR-ABL or FLT3-ITD, but in many cases the mechanism of Akt phosphorylation and its significance is unknown. Is AKT activation simply a marker of leukemic transformation, or is it a driver of leukemogenesis?

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