title: Akt, a pleckstrin homology domain containing kinase, is activated primarily by phosphorylation.
abstract: Akt is a serine/threonine kinase that is stimulated by receptor tyrosine kinases and contains a pleckstrin homology domain. One model proposed to explain this activation suggests that receptor tyrosine kinases stimulate a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase whose lipid products directly activate Akt kinase by interacting with its pleckstrin homology domain. In the present study, we show, in three cell types, that Akt does not require its pleckstrin homology domain to respond to either insulin or platelet-derived growth factor. Moreover, attachment of the src myristoylation signal to target Akt, without its pleckstrin homology domain, to the membrane constitutively activates Akt by causing an increase in its basal level of phosphorylation. This constitutively active form of Akt can also activate p70(S6K), indicating that the pleckstrin homology domain is not necessary for downstream interactions. Fusion of the inter src homology 2 domain from the p85 regulatory subunit of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase to Akt also constitutively activated Akt and induced an association with the lipid kinase. Phosphorylation of this fusion protein still critically contributes toward its increased activity. The sum of these results indicates that the primary mechanism of Akt activation is via protein phosphorylation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Kohn
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Roth
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002460:Cell Line; D006224:Cricetinae; D003412:Cricetulus; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor) / Q000378:metabolism; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D019893:Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases
chemical_list: D001798:Blood Proteins; D007328:Insulin; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor); D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D019893:Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases; C039077:platelet protein P47