Recent Advance of Akt Inhibitors in Clinical Trials

The serine/threonine kinase Akt, also known as protein kinase B (PKB), exerts a critical role in the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3 K)-Akt signaling pathway that involves in cell growth, proliferation, apoptosis and neo-angiogenesis. Inhibition of Akt results in blockade of cell-cycle progression and growth of tumors. Therefore, focusing on the drug design strategies to develop potent antitumor agents targeting Akt has been hot spot research areas. In this review, we summarized the intracellular functions of Akt, and outlined the development of Akt inhibitors in clinical trials.