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. 2021 Feb 3;8:619252. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.619252

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Growth factor mediated activation of AKT1. AKT1 is activated in response to growth factor mediated stimulation of the PI3K pathway. Activated AKT1 promotes an oncogenic cellular phenotype that exhibits inhibited autophagy and apoptosis pathways as well as activated cellular growth, proliferation and anabolic pathways. AKT1 targets many cellular proteins and the complete catalog of AKT1 substrates is unknown. The above examples show how AKT1 inhibits autophagy via the phosphorylation of the tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Through intermediates not shown, phosphorylated TSC can no longer maintain inhibition of mTORC1, so mTORC1 activity is simulated downstream of active AKT1 (Saxton and Sabatini, 2017). AKT1 also inhibits apoptosis and promotes cellular growth through phosphorylation and subsequent inhibition of the tumor suppressors FOXO and GSK-3β (van der Vos and Coffer, 2010; Kaidanovich-Beilin and Woodgett, 2011).