Regulation of Neuronal Survival by the Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase Akt

Abstract

A signaling pathway was delineated by which insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) promotes the survival of cerebellar neurons. IGF-1 activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K) triggered the activation of two protein kinases, the serine-threonine kinase Akt and the p70 ribosomal protein S6 kinase (p70 S6K ). Experiments with pharmacological inhibitors, as well as expression of wild-type and dominant-inhibitory forms of Akt, demonstrated that Akt but not p70 S6K mediates PI3-K-dependent survival. These findings suggest that in the developing nervous system, Akt is a critical mediator of growth factor-induced neuronal survival.

Keywords

Affiliated Institutions

• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute US
• Harvard University US
• McGill University CA
• Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital CA
• Boston Children's Hospital US
• University of Pennsylvania US
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute US
• Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital US

Related Publications