Activation of Akt protects cancer cells from growth inhibition induced by PKM2 knockdown.

ABSTRACT:

Background

PKM2 is an attractive target for cancer therapy, however, for many cancer cells, PKM2 knockdown only leads to a modest impairment of survival and proliferation. It is not known whether PKM2 knockdown rewires cell signaling pathways in these "PKM2 knockdown resistant" cells, and whether the rewired pathways are needed for their survival.

Findings

In present study, we investigated the effects of PKM2 knockdown on cellular signaling pathways in "PKM2 knockdown resistant" cancer cells. We found that knockdown of PKM2 leads to activation of Akt. Furthermore, we revealed that activation of Akt in PKM2 knockdown cells is a result of glycolysis disruption. Inhibiton of PI3K-Akt signaling pathway leads to significant growth inhibition and apoptosis in PKM2 knockdown cells.

SUBMITTER: Qin X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4108064 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature