title: Is Akt the "Warburg kinase"?-Akt-energy metabolism interactions and oncogenesis.
abstract: The serine/threonine kinase Akt - also known as protein kinase B (PKB) - has emerged as one of the most frequently activated protein kinases in human cancer. In fact, most, if not all, tumors ultimately find a way to activate this important kinase. As such, Akt activation constitutes a hallmark of most cancer cells, and such ubiquity presumably connotes important roles in tumor genesis and/or progression. Likewise, the hypermetabolic nature of cancer cells and their increased reliance on "aerobic glycolysis", as originally described by Otto Warburg and colleagues, are considered metabolic hallmarks of cancer cells. In this review, we address the specific contributions of Akt activation to the signature metabolic features of cancer cells, including the so-called "Warburg effect".
authors.affiliation: White River Junction VA Medical Center, White River Jct, VT 05009-0001, United States. R.Brooks.Robey@Dartmouth.edu
authors.forename: R Brooks
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Robey
authors.forename: Nissim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hay
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D006019:Glycolysis / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt