title: Blocking the PI3K/PKB pathway in tumor cells.
abstract: A substantial number of experimental and epidemiological studies support an important role for the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (PKB) pathway in the biology of human cancers. Components of this signaling cascade have been found to be deregulated in a wide range of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, and extensive anti-cancer therapeutic programs are now devoted to the identification of agents that specifically block this molecular pathway. This article focuses on the current knowledge of the alterations of the PI3K/PKB pathway in cancer cells and ongoing drug discovery efforts to therapeutically target it. Particular emphasis is placed on medicinal chemistry activities to identify and develop compounds able to modulate the kinase activity of its main molecular components.
authors.affiliation: Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, WKL-136.4.84, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stauffer
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Holzer
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: García-Echeverría
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D015394:Molecular Structure; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D000081082:Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D000081082:Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt