The AKT oncogene was isolated from the directly transforming murine retrovirus AKT8, which was isolated from an AKR mouse thymoma cell line. Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) generate specific inositol lipids that have been implicated in the regulation of cell growth, proliferation, survival, differentiation and cytoskeletal changes. One of the best characterized targets of PI3K lipid products is the protein kinase AKT or protein kinase B (PKB).
