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Abstract
The serine/threonine kinase Akt - also known as protein kinase B (PKB) - has emerged
as one of the most frequently activated protein kinases in human cancer. In fact,
most, if not all, tumors ultimately find a way to activate this important kinase.
As such, Akt activation constitutes a hallmark of most cancer cells, and such ubiquity
presumably connotes important roles in tumor genesis and/or progression. Likewise,
the hypermetabolic nature of cancer cells and their increased reliance on "aerobic
glycolysis", as originally described by Otto Warburg and colleagues, are considered
metabolic hallmarks of cancer cells. In this review, we address the specific contributions
of Akt activation to the signature metabolic features of cancer cells, including the
so-called "Warburg effect".