AKT is a serine–threonine protein kinase that is expressed as three isoforms (AKT1, -2 and -3). AKT activation is initiated by translocation to the plasma membrane, which is mediated by a receptor tyrosine kinase-PI3K pathway. Activated AKT phosphorylates many key proteins, such as glycogen synthase kinase 3 and FOXOs, and regulates cell survival, proliferation and other cellar processes. Amplification of AKT1 and AKT2 has been discovered in a variety of common tumor types. AKT1 is linked to tumor cell survival and growth, whereas AKT2 is linked to tumor invasiveness.
The AKT genetic alteration cell panel (
ATCC TCP-1029) is composed of eight human tumor cell lines from common cancer types that carry ATK gene copy number changes. The AKT1 and AKT2 gene alteration status of each cell line has been sequenced and validated by ATCC. This panel is useful for AKT pathway research, as well as for developing pan-AKT inhibitors or isoform-specific AKT inhibitors for anti-cancer therapeutics.