AKT-ing out: SGK kinases come to the fore

Autor: Bart Vanhaesebroeck, Larissa S. Moniz
Rok vydání: 2013
Předmět:
medicine.medical_treatment
PDK1
phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1

AKT2
phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)
Biochemistry
Targeted therapy
PRAS40
proline-rich Akt substrate of 40 kDa

FOXO
forkhead box O

NDRG1
N-Myc downstream-regulated gene 1

qRT-PCR
quantitative reverse transcription–PCR

protein kinase inhibitor
Kinase
mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)
N-Myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1)
HRP
horseradish peroxidase

N-Myc
neuroblastoma-derived Myc

mTORC
mTOR complex

shRNA
short hairpin RNA

Female
PI3K
phosphoinositide 3-kinase

Research Article
PTEN
phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10

PH
pleckstrin homology

Breast Neoplasms
MTS
3-(4
5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium

SGK
serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase

mTOR
mammalian target of rapamycin

Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
Biology
TBST
Tris-buffered saline-Tween

Immediate early protein
Immediate-Early Proteins
HEK
human embryonic kidney

FBS
fetal bovine serum

GSK3
glycogen synthase kinase 3

medicine
Animals
Humans
Protein Kinase Inhibitors
Molecular Biology
Protein kinase B
GI50
growth inhibition by 50%

Cancer
Cell Biology
medicine.disease
signal transduction inhibitor
Drug Resistance
Neoplasm

Cancer cell
SGK1
Cancer research
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
Zdroj: Biochemical Journal
ISSN: 1470-8728
0264-6021
DOI: 10.1042/bj20130617
Popis: The majority of human cancers harbour mutations promoting activation of the Akt protein kinase, and Akt inhibitors are being evaluated in clinical trials. An important question concerns the understanding of the innate mechanisms that confer resistance of tumour cells to Akt inhibitors. SGK (serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase) is closely related to Akt and controlled by identical upstream regulators {PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase), PDK1 (phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1) and mTORC2 [mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) complex 2]}. Mutations that trigger activation of Akt would also stimulate SGK. Moreover, Akt and SGK possess analogous substrate specificities and are likely to phosphorylate overlapping substrates to promote proliferation. To investigate whether cancers possessing high SGK activity could possess innate resistance to Akt-specific inhibitors (that do not target SGK), we analysed SGK levels and sensitivity of a panel of breast cancer cells towards two distinct Akt inhibitors currently in clinical trials (AZD5363 and MK-2206). This revealed a number of Akt-inhibitor-resistant lines displaying markedly elevated SGK1 that also exhibited significant phosphorylation of the SGK1 substrate NDRG1 [N-Myc (neuroblastoma-derived Myc) downstream-regulated gene 1]. In contrast, most Akt-inhibitor-sensitive cell lines displayed low/undetectable levels of SGK1. Intriguingly, despite low SGK1 levels, several Akt-inhibitor-sensitive cells showed marked NDRG1 phosphorylation that was, unlike in the resistant cells, suppressed by Akt inhibitors. SGK1 knockdown markedly reduced proliferation of Akt-inhibitor-resistant, but not -sensitive, cells. Furthermore, treatment of Akt-inhibitor-resistant cells with an mTOR inhibitor suppressed proliferation and led to inhibition of SGK1. The results of the present study suggest that monitoring SGK1 levels as well as responses of NDRG1 phosphorylation to Akt inhibitor administration could have a use in predicting the sensitivity of tumours to compounds that target Akt. Our findings highlight the therapeutic potential that SGK inhibitors or dual Akt/SGK inhibitors might have for treatment of cancers displaying elevated SGK activity.
Databáze: OpenAIRE