Phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate [PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 ] is the signaling currency of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway; transduction through this axis depends on this signaling lipid. Formation of PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 is dictated not only by PI3K activation but also by the localization and access of PI3K to its substrate PtdIns(4,5)P 2 (phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate). PI3K/AKT-mediated signaling is antagonized by PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 dephosphorylation. Although previously typically considered an event associated with the plasma membrane, it is now appreciated that the formation and metabolism of PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 occur on multiple membranes with distinct kinetics. Modulated activity of phosphatidylinositol lipid kinases and phosphatases contributes to intricately orchestrated lipid gradients that define the signaling status of the pathway at multiple sites within the cell.
Introducing the PI3K/AKT PathwayThe response to extracellular mitogenic stimuli requires the transduction of signals from the cell periphery to the interior of the cell. Extracellular mitogenic signals bind and activate receptor tyrosine kinases at the plasma membrane, thereby recruiting and subsequently activating phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks). Activated PI3K catalyzes the formation of phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate [PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 ]. AKTand the kinase PDK1, which phosphorylates and activates AKT, both bind PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 and are brought into proximity at sites where PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 is abundant, thereby instigating their signal transduction properties. The PI3K/AKT signaling axis transduces signals generated by a plethora of extracellular stimuli and modulates multiple cellular processes, including metabolism, proliferation, survival, and protein synthesis (1, 2). Components of the PI3K pathway contribute to one of two main functions: the synthesis of PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 or the interpretation of or response to the lipid signals generated.Enzymatic control of the synthesis and metabolism of PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 is regulated by mitogens. Class I PI3K enzymes produce PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 (3) by catalyzing the addition of phosphate to the substrate PtdIns(4,5)P 2 (phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate) (4). Hydrolysis of PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 is mostly, although not exclusively, achieved by two classes of enzymes. One is known as phosphatase and tensin homolog, deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN), which dephosphorylates PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 at the 3 position generating PtdIns(4,5)P 2 (5). The other is the SH2 (Src homology 2)-containing inositol phosphatase (SHIP) enzymes, which hydrolyze the 5′ position of PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 , thus generating PtdIns(3,4)P 2 (6). Consequently, the locale of active class I PI3K, the accessibility of PI3K to their PtdIns(4,5)P 2 substrate, and the subcellular distributions of PTEN, SHIP, and other PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 -dephosphorylating enzymes define the spatiotemporal activity of the PI3K/AKT axis.In addition to AKT-mediated mitogen-induced signaling, PI3K-dependent formation of PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 contrib...