PI3K/AKT signaling is up-regulated in various types of cancers
and can be regulated by viral proteins including those from HBV.
We, therefore, used an AKT inhibitor to examine the role of AKT in
HBx-induced PDAC cell progression. LY294002 is synthetic molecule
known to inhibit the PI3K/AKT pathway. It demonstrates a
remarkable growth-inhibitory and apoptosis-inducing effect in many
cancer cell lines, with decreased expression of phosphorylated AKT
(Ser473) [35,36]. Even at a non-cytotoxic concentration of LY294002
(2 μg/mL), p-AKT is down-regulated (Fig. 5A). Differences in cell viability
and growth are completely eliminated when cells are treated
with 2 μg/mL of LY294002 (Fig. 5B–E). Migration of PANC-1 cells is
also decreased after treatment with the same concentration of
LY294002 (Fig. 5F). These results suggest that HBx promotes cell proliferation
and migration by increasing phosphorylation of AKT