title: The phosphoinositide 3-OH kinase/AKT2 pathway as a critical target for farnesyltransferase inhibitor-induced apoptosis.
abstract: Farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTIs) represent a novel class of anticancer drugs that exhibit a remarkable ability to inhibit malignant transformation without toxicity to normal cells. However, the mechanism by which FTIs inhibit tumor growth is not well understood. Here, we demonstrate that FTI-277 inhibits phosphatidylinositol 3-OH kinase (PI 3-kinase)/AKT2-mediated growth factor- and adhesion-dependent survival pathways and induces apoptosis in human cancer cells that overexpress AKT2. Furthermore, overexpression of AKT2, but not oncogenic H-Ras, sensitizes NIH 3T3 cells to FTI-277, and a high serum level prevents FTI-277-induced apoptosis in H-Ras- but not AKT2-transformed NIH 3T3 cells. A constitutively active form of AKT2 rescues human cancer cells from FTI-277-induced apoptosis. FTI-277 inhibits insulin-like growth factor 1-induced PI 3-kinase and AKT2 activation and subsequent phosphorylation of the proapoptotic protein BAD. Integrin-dependent activation of AKT2 is also blocked by FTI-277. Thus, a mechanism for FTI inhibition of human tumor growth is by inducing apoptosis through inhibition of PI 3-kinase/AKT2-mediated cell survival and adhesion pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33612, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Coppola
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Crespo
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Nicosia
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Sebti
authors.forename: J Q
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D051231:Farnesyltranstransferase; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008715:Methionine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D051231:Farnesyltranstransferase; D008715:Methionine; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; C096856:FTI 277; C494921:AKT2 protein, human