In 1321N1 astrocytoma cells, heterotrimeric G-protein-coupled receptors that activate phosphoinositidespecific phospholipase C (PLC) isoforms via G q , induced a prolonged activation of protein kinase B (PKB) after a short delay. For example, the effect of carbachol acting on M 3 muscarinic receptors is blocked by wortmannin, suggesting it is mediated via a phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase). In support of this, carbachol increased PI 3-kinase activity in PI 3-kinase (p85) immunoprecipitates. The pathway linking PLC-coupled receptors to PI 3-kinase was deduced to involve phosphoinositide hydrolysis and Ca 2؉ -dependent ErbB3 transactivation but not protein kinase C on the basis of the following evidence: (i) inhibition of carbachol stimulated PLC by pretreatment with the phorbol ester phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate concomitantly reduced PKB activity, whereas stimulation of other PLC-coupled receptors also activated PKB; (ii) Ca 2؉ ionophores and thapsigargin stimulated PKB activity in a wortmanninsensitive manner, whereas bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N, N, N, N-tetraacetic acid blocked carbachol-stimulated PKB activity; (iii) phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate alone did not activate PKB, whereas a protein kinase C inhibitor did not prevent the activation of PKB by carbachol; and (iv) carbachol stimulated ErbB3-tyrosine phosphorylation and association with p85, and both these and PKB activity were blocked by tyrphostin AG1478, an epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor. These experiments define a novel pathway linking G q -coupled G-protein-coupled receptors to the activation of PI 3-kinase and PKB.
Protein kinase B (PKB),1 also known as c-Akt or Rac-PK, is a 60-kDa serine-threonine kinase that is the cellular homologue of the viral oncogene v-akt (1-3). PKB family members appear to be overexpressed in some human cancers, including those of the breast, pancreas, and ovaries (3, 4). Much of the interest in PKB stems from the discovery that this kinase is rapidly activated in response to a wide variety of receptortyrosine kinases and that such activation is prevented by strategies that inhibit or prevent the activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI 3-kinases; Refs. 2, 3, 5, 6). PKB is now established as one of several direct targets of the lipid products of PI 3-kinases, phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PtdIns (3,4,5)P 3 ) and phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate (7, 9) The current model for activation of PKB via receptor-tyrosine kinases involves phosphorylation at Thr 308 in the activation loop of the catalytic domain and Ser 473 in the carboxyl-terminal tail (5). The phosphorylation of both sites is required for maximum activation and requires an interaction between the amino-terminal pleckstrin homology domain of PKB with PtdIns (3,4,5)P 3 or phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate (5, 10, 11). Lipid binding results in translocation of PKB to membranes and induces a conformational change in PKB, making it an efficient substrate for upstream kinase(s). Phosphorylation of Thr 308 ...