PCAF-mediated Akt1 acetylation enhances the proliferation of human glioblastoma cells

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor in humans. The activation of PI3K/Akt1 signaling pathway is involved in the proliferation of glioblastoma; however, the underlying mechanism of Akt1 activation during the development of glioblastoma remains largely unclear. Recently, the modification of molecular molecules at protein level such as acetylation has been shown to be related to the function of these molecules. Thus, in our present studies, the acetylation of Akt1 molecule and its role in the proliferation of glioblastoma cells was explored. The results showed that Akt1 was markedly acetylated in glioblastoma cells compared to normal human astrocytes. Mechanistically, PCAF-mediated Akt1 acetylation enhanced Akt1 phosphorylation at both sites of Thr(308) and Ser(473) and further promoted the proliferation of glioblastoma cells. Together, these data implicate that, as a post-translational regulation, PCAF-mediated Akt1 acetylation plays an important role in the proliferation of human glioblastoma, suggesting a novel target for clinical application.