title: The nuclear phosphoinositide 3-kinase/AKT pathway: a new second messenger system.
abstract: Lipid second messengers, particularly those derived from the polyphosphoinositide cycle, play a pivotal role in several cell signaling networks. Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) generate specific inositol lipids that have been implicated in a plethora of cell functions. One of the best-characterized targets of PI3K lipid products is the serine/threonine protein kinase Akt. Recent findings have implicated Akt in cancer progression because it stimulates cell proliferation and suppresses apoptosis. Evidence accumulated over the past 15 years has highlighted the presence of an autonomous nuclear inositol lipid metabolism, and suggests that lipid molecules are important components of signaling pathways operating within the nucleus. PI3Ks, their lipid products, and Akt have also been identified at the nuclear level. In this review, we shall summarize the most updated findings about these molecules in relationship with the nuclear compartment and provide an overview of the possible mechanisms by which they regulate important cell functions.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Morfologia ed Embriologia, Sezione di Anatomia Umana, Università di Ferrara, via Fossato di Mortara 66, 44100 Ferrara, Italy. l.neri@dns.unife.it
authors.forename: Luca M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Neri
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Borgatti
authors.forename: Silvano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Capitani
authors.forename: Alberto M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Martelli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000502:physiology*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D015290:Second Messenger Systems; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; C494918:AKT1 protein, human