Detection of serine 473 phosphorylated Akt in acute myeloid leukaemia blasts by flow cytometry.
The phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt signalling pathway is a recently recognized important parameter in the prognosis and the response to treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Akt kinase is activated by phosphorylation on Thr 308 and Ser 473. Active Akt promotes cell growth and survival to apoptotic insults. Thus, it seems important to evaluate Akt phosphorylation in AML blasts. This work aimed to establish whether it was possible to detect Akt phosphorylation on Ser 473 of AML blasts by means of flow cytometry. High levels of Akt activity and phosphorylation were detected in 13 of 15 cases of AML. Flow cytometric analysis revealed similar patterns of Ser 473 expression as was observed with Akt kinase activity and Western blot analysis of Thr 308 and Ser 473 phosphorylation. Double immunostaining enabled the simultaneous flow cytometric detection of an AML-associated antigen (CD33) and Ser 473 phosphorylated Akt in leukaemic blast populations. Our results indicate that flow cytometry enabled the rapid and quantitative assessment of Ser 473 phosphorylated Akt of AML blasts that, when used in combination with cell surface staining, can provide more accurate phenotyping of AML blasts.
Servizio di Immunoematologia e Trasfusionale, Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, via Irnerio 48, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
Pier Luigi
PL
Tazzari
Alessandra
A
Cappellini
Tiziana
T
Grafone
Irina
I
Mantovani
Francesca
F
Ricci
Anna Maria
AM
Billi
Emanuela
E
Ottaviani
Roberto
R
Conte
Giovanni
G
Martinelli
Alberto M
AM
Martelli
D000208:Acute Disease; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000032:analysis; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic / Q000032:analysis; D015153:Blotting, Western; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011379:Prognosis; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D012694:Serine / Q000378:metabolism*; D063268:Sialic Acid Binding Ig-like Lectin 3
D015703:Antigens, CD; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic; C571163:CD33 protein, human; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D063268:Sialic Acid Binding Ig-like Lectin 3; D012694:Serine; C494918:AKT1 protein, human; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt