AKT2 Products

Description

AKT (also known as protein kinase B (PKB) and RAC (related to A and C kinases)) is a critical intracellular serine/threonine kinase that translates signals from extracellular stimuli including growth factors, cytokines and neurotransmitters (1). AKT signaling plays critical roles in cell growth, proliferation, survival and differentiation (1). It is also involved in organogenesis, angiogenesis and metabolism. Three mammalian AKT isoforms have been identified. The AKT pathway can be activated by any of the three members who share a high level of protein homology but are independently encoded by AKT1 (PKB alpha; 14q32.32), AKT2 (PKB beta; 19q13.2), or AKT3 (PKB gamma; 1q44) (1, 2). Each AKT family member contains an N-terminal pleckstrin homology (PH) domain, a central kinase domain, and a C-terminal regulatory domain. AKT mediates many of the downstream events of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K), a lipid kinase activated by growth factors, cytokines and insulin. PI3-K recruits AKT to the membrane, where it is activated by PDK1 phosphorylation. AKT has two main phosphorylation sites (Ser473 and Thr308, predicted molecular weight 56 kDa) (3, 4). Once phosphorylated, AKT dissociates from the membrane and phosphorylates targets in the cytoplasm and the cell nucleus including mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR).

The main function of AKT is to control inhibition of apoptosis and promote cell proliferation. Survival factors can activate AKT Ser473 and Thr308 phosphorylation sites in a transcription-independent manner, resulting in the inactivation of apoptotic signaling transduction through the tumor suppressor PTEN, an antagonist to PI3-K (5). PTEN exerts enzymatic activity as a phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3) phosphatase, opposing PI3K activity by decreasing availability of PIP3 to proliferating cells, leading to overexpression and inappropriate activation of AKT noted in many types of cancer.

AKT1 function has been linked to overall physiological growth and function (2). AKT1 has been correlated with proteus syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by overgrowth of various tissues caused by a mosaic variant in the AKT1 gene in humans.

AKT2 is strongly correlated with Type II diabetes, including phenotypes of insulin resistance, hyperglycemia and atherosclerosis (2, 6).

The function of AKT3 is specifically associated to brain development, where disruptions to AKT3 are correlated with microcephaly, hemimegalencephaly, megalencephaly and intellectual disabilities (2).

References

1. Ersahin, T., Tuncbag, N., & Cetin-Atalay, R. (2015). The PI3K/AKT/mTOR interactive pathway. Mol Biosyst, 11(7), 1946-1954. doi:10.1039/c5mb00101c

2. Cohen, M. M., Jr. (2013). The AKT genes and their roles in various disorders. Am J Med Genet A, 161a(12), 2931-2937. doi:10.1002/ajmg.a.36101

3. Georgescu, M. M. (2010). PTEN Tumor Suppressor Network in PI3K-Akt Pathway Control. Genes Cancer, 1(12), 1170-1177. doi:10.1177/1947601911407325

4. Mishra, P., Paital, B., Jena, S., Swain, S. S., Kumar, S., Yadav, M. K., . . . Samanta, L. (2019). Possible activation of NRF2 by Vitamin E/Curcumin against altered thyroid hormone induced oxidative stress via NFkB/AKT/mTOR/KEAP1 signalling in rat heart. Sci Rep, 9(1), 7408. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-43320-5

5. Wedel, S., Hudak, L., Seibel, J. M., Juengel, E., Oppermann, E., Haferkamp, A., & Blaheta, R. A. (2011). Critical analysis of simultaneous blockage of histone deacetylase and multiple receptor tyrosine kinase in the treatment of prostate cancer. Prostate, 71(7), 722-735. doi:10.1002/pros.21288

6. Rotllan, N., Chamorro-Jorganes, A., Araldi, E., Wanschel, A. C., Aryal, B., Aranda, J. F., . . . Fernandez-Hernando, C. (2015). Hematopoietic Akt2 deficiency attenuates the progression of atherosclerosis. Faseb j, 29(2), 597-610. doi:10.1096/fj.14-262097

Bioinformatics

Entrez	11652 Mouse
Product By Gene ID	208
Alternate Names	Akt2 EC 2.7.11 EC 2.7.11.1 Murine thymoma viral (v-akt) homolog-2 PKB beta PKBB PKBBETA PRKBB Protein kinase Akt-2 Protein kinase B beta rac protein kinase beta RAC-beta serine/threonine-protein kinase RAC-beta RAC-PK-beta v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 2

Research Areas for AKT2

Find related products by research area and learn more about each of the different research areas below.

Apoptosis
Autophagy
Cancer
Growth and Development
Hypoxia
mTOR Pathway
Neuronal Cell Markers
Protein Kinase
Signal Transduction

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AKT Antibody Assays: A Complex Area with an Easy Solution We at Novus Biologicals place a lot of emphasis on the kinase signaling pathways. Kinases, or phosphotransferase enzymes play a key role in phosphorylation signaling. Over 500 human protein kinases have so far been discovered. They play essential role...    Read more.

The Akt Antibody Plays Many Roles in Cancer Research There are three human isoforms of the AKT gene, which plays a key role in several signalling pathways. Akt antibody studies have shown the Atk kinases to play a diverse number of roles within the cell, regulating angiogenesis, apoptosis, protein synth...    Read more.

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