Activation of Akt during simulated ischemia/reperfusion in cardiac myocytes

In the present study we have investigated whether Akt was activated during simulated ischemia (SI) and simulated ischemia/reperfusion (SI/R) in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Akt was phosphorylated on both S473 and T308 residues after 10 min of simulated SI/R and remained elevated for 60 min before returning to basal levels after 2 h. No phosphorylation was observed during SI alone. SI/R-stimulated Akt activation was inhibited by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K) inhibitor wortmannin, the tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein and the Src tyrosine kinase inhibitor PP2, indicating a requirement for tyrosine kinase activity in Akt activation. Furthermore, SB203580, a p38 MAPK inhibitor, partially inhibited Akt activation. SI/R also induced the phosphorylation of PHAS-I, a downstream Akt target, in a wortmannin-dependent manner. These results demonstrate for the first time that SI/R stimulates Akt activation via PI3-K-and Src tyrosine kinase-dependent pathways, whereas p38 MAPK appears to be involved in maintaining Akt activation.