Chronic Diseases Prevention Review (Online ISSN: 2158-0820)

Cancer Cell Research 2023 10(39) 928-938; published online  31 December 2023

Abstract:AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT1) overexpression is correlated with chemoresistance in liver cancer. However, the cellular functions and precise signals elicited by AKT1 in liver cancer cell lines and its relative chemoresistance have not been elucidated. In this study, we found that ATK1 was highly expressed in liver cancer cells and that the chemotherapeutic drug epirubicin (EPI) reduced the AKT1 expression. Then we used the transfected liver cancer cell lines SMMC-7721 and HepG2 with small interfering RNAs and the targeted vector to establish the AKT1 knockdown and overexpression cell lines. Our in vitro experiments showed that knocking down AKT1 in SMMC-7721 and HepG2 cells inhibited cell proliferation, induced cell apoptosis and cell cycle blocking, elevated the chemosensitivity of HepG2 cells to EPI, and upregulated the tumor suppressor gene phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN). Our findings may lead to a better understanding of the biological effect of AKT1 and may provide mechanistic insights on tumor development.