Aberrant activation of the phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K)/ PTEN/Akt pathway, leading to increased proliferation and decreased apoptosis, has been implicated in several human pathologies including cancer. Our previous data have shown that Akt-mediated signaling is an essential mediator in the mouse skin carcinogenesis system during both the tumor promotion and progression stages. In addition, overexpression of Akt is also able to transform keratinocytes through transcriptional and posttranscriptional processes. Here, we report the consequences of the increased expression of Akt1 (wtAkt) or constitutively active Akt1 (myrAkt) in the basal layer of stratified epithelia using the bovine keratin K5 promoter. These mice display alterations in epidermal proliferation and differentiation. In addition, transgenic mice with the highest levels of Akt expression developed spontaneous epithelial tumors in multiple organs with age.

Aberrant activation of PI3K/Akt signaling has been implicated in the development and progression of multiple human cancers. During the process of skin tumor promotion induced by treatment with the phorbol ester TPA, activation of epidermal Akt occurs as well as several downstream effectors of Akt, including the activation of mTORC1. Rapamycin, an established mTORC1 inhibitor, was used to further explore the role of mTORC1 signaling in epithelial carcinogenesis, specifically during the tumor promotion stage. Rapamycin blocked TPA-induced activation of mTORC1 as well as several downstream targets. In addition, TPA-induced epidermal hyperproliferation and hyperplasia were inhibited in a dose-dependent manner with topical rapamycin treatments. Immunohistochemical analyses of the skin from mice in this multiple treatment experiment revealed that rapamycin also significantly decreased the number of infiltrating macrophages, T-cells, neutrophils, and mast cells seen in the dermis following TPA treatment. Using a two-stage skin carcinogenesis protocol with DMBA as initiator and TPA as the promoter, rapamycin (5–200 nmol per mouse given topically 30 minutes prior to TPA) exerted a powerful anti-promoting effect, reducing both tumor incidence and tumor multiplicity. Moreover, topical application of rapamycin to existing papillomas induced regression and/or inhibited further growth. Overall, the data indicate that rapamycin is a potent inhibitor of skin tumor promotion and suggest that signaling through mTORC1 contributes significantly to the process of skin tumor promotion. The data also suggest that blocking this pathway either alone or in combination with other agents targeting additional pathways may be an effective strategy for prevention of epithelial carcinogenesis.

Growth factor receptor (GFR) signaling controls epithelial cell growth by responding to various endogenous or exogenous stimuli and subsequently activating downstream signaling pathways including Stat3, PI3K/Akt/mTOR, MAPK, and c-Src. Environmental chemical toxicants and UVB irradiation cause enhanced and prolonged activation of GFR signaling and downstream pathways that contributes to epithelial cancer development including skin cancer. Recent studies, especially those using tissue-specific transgenic mouse models, have demonstrated that GFRs and their downstream signaling pathways contribute to all three stages of epithelial carcinogenesis by regulating a wide variety of biological functions including proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, cell adhesion and migration. Inhibiting these signaling pathways early in the carcinogenic process results in reduced cell proliferation and survival, leading to decreased tumor formation. Collectively, these studies suggest that GFR signaling and subsequent downstream signaling pathways are potential targets for the prevention of epithelial cancers including skin cancer.

Overexpression of human IGF-1 with the bovine keratin 5 (BK5) promoter (BK5.IGF-1 transgenic mice) induces persistent epidermal hyperplasia and leads to spontaneous skin tumor formation. In previous work, PI3K and Akt activities were found to be elevated in the epidermis of BK5.IGF-1 transgenic mice compared to nontransgenic littermates. In the present study, we examined the importance of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in mediating the skin phenotype and the skin tumor promoting action of IGF-1 in these mice. Western blot analyses with epidermal lysates showed that signaling components downstream of PI3K/Akt were altered in epidermis of BK5.IGF-1 mice. Increased phosphorylation of GSK-3 (Ser(9/21)), TSC2(Thr(1462)), and mTOR(Ser(2448)) was observed. In addition, hypophosphorylation and increased protein levels of beta-catenin were observed in the epidermis of BK5.IGF-1 mice. These data suggested that components downstream of Akt might be affected, including cell cycle machinery in the epidermis of BK5.IGF-1 mice. Protein levels of cyclins (D1, E, A), E2F1, and E2F4 were all elevated in the epidermis of BK5.IGF-1 mice. Also, immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated an increase in cdk4/cyclin D1 and cdk2/cyclin E complex formation, suggesting increased cdk activity in the epidermis of transgenic mice. In further studies, the PI3K inhibitor, LY294002, significantly blocked IGF-1-mediated epidermal proliferation and skin tumor promotion in DMBA-initiated BK5.IGF-1 mice. In addition, inhibition of PI3K/Akt with LY294002 reversed many of the cell cycle related changes observed in untreated transgenic animals. Collectively, the current results supported the hypothesis that elevated PI3K/Akt activity and subsequent activation of one or more downstream effector pathways contributed significantly to the tumor promoting action of IGF-1 in the epidermis of BK5.IGF-1 mice.

Akt is a serine/threonine kinase involved in a variety of cellular responses, including cell proliferation and cell survival. Recent studies from our laboratory suggest that Akt signaling may play an important role in skin tumor promotion. To explore this premise, we examined epidermal Akt activation and signaling in response to chemically diverse skin tumor promoters. Mice received single or multiple applications of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-