Open AccessAKT2, a putative oncogene encoding a member of a subfamily of protein-serine/threonine kinases, is amplified in human ovarian carcinomas.
Author(s) -
Jin Q. Cheng,
Andrew K. Godwin,
Alfonso Bellacosa,
Takahiro Taguchi,
Thomas Franke,
Thomas C. Hamilton,
Philip N. Tsichlis,
Joseph R. Testa
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.89.19.9267
Subject(s) - akt2 , akt3 , biology , subfamily , complementary dna , serine , microbiology and biotechnology , homology (biology) , kinase , oncogene , gene , akt1 , threonine , genetics , signal transduction , phosphorylation , cell cycle , protein kinase b
We isolated cDNA clones containing the entire coding region of the putative oncogene AKT2. Sequence analysis and in vitro translation demonstrated that AKT2 encodes a 56-kDa protein with homology to serine/threonine kinases; moreover, this protein contains a Src homology 2-like domain. AKT2 was shown to be amplified and overexpressed in 2 of 8 ovarian carcinoma cell lines and 2 of 15 primary ovarian tumors. AKT2 was mapped to chromosome region 19q13.1-q13.2 by fluorescence in situ hybridization. In the two ovarian carcinoma cell lines exhibiting amplification of AKT2, the amplified sequences were localized within homogeneously staining regions. We conclude that AKT2 belongs to a distinct subfamily of protein-serine/threonine kinases containing Src homology 2-like domains and that alterations of AKT2 may contribute to the pathogenesis of ovarian carcinomas.