Western blotting for the analysis of proteins involved in the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Compared with the vector group, the expression levels of PI3K, p-Akt, MEK, p-ERK and Bcl-2 were suppressed in the HOXA6 group, but the expression levels of PTEN, Bax, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP were increased. Opposing results were observed in the shHOXA6 group compared with the NC group. *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001 vs. vector or NC. Akt, protein kinase B; PI3K, phosphoinositide 3-kinase; p, phosphorylated; PTEN, phosphatase and tensin homolog; MEK, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase; ERK, extracellular signal-regulated kinase; Bax, B-cell lymphoma 2-associated X protein; Bcl-2, B-cell lymphoma 2; PARP, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase; HOXA6, homeobox A6; vector, vector-only control; NC, negative control; shHOXA6, HOXA6 short hairpin RNA.