ArticlePloS one2012
Activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway in Merkel cell carcinoma.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- Review
- High tumor mutational burden and PIK3CA mutations correlate with poor Merkel cell carcinoma-specific survival.JCI insight · 2026Article
- Understanding Merkel Cell Carcinoma: Pathogenic Signaling, Extracellular Matrix Dynamics, and Novel Treatment Approaches.Cancers · 2025Review
- Therapeutic Approaches for Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer: Standard of Care and Emerging Modalities.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Merkel cell carcinoma: updates in tumor biology, emerging therapies, and preclinical models.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Review
- Onco-Pathogen Mediated Cancer Progression and Associated Signaling Pathways in Cancer Development.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Review
- Therapeutic Potential of 5'-Methylschweinfurthin G in Merkel Cell Polyomavirus-Positive Merkel Cell Carcinoma.Viruses · 2022Article
- Activation of Oncogenic and Immune-Response Pathways Is Linked to Disease-Specific Survival in Merkel Cell Carcinoma.Cancers · 2022Article
- Organotypic Epithelial Raft Cultures as a Three-Dimensional In Vitro Model of Merkel Cell Carcinoma.Cancers · 2022Article
- Article
- Review
- Virus-positive Merkel Cell Carcinoma Is an Independent Prognostic Group with Distinct Predictive Biomarkers.Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 2021Article
- Article
- Merkel Cell Polyomavirus and Merkel Cell Carcinoma.Cancers · 2020Review
- Inhibition of PI3K by copanlisib exerts potent antitumor effects on Merkel cell carcinoma cell lines and mouse xenografts.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Navitoclax combined with Alpelisib effectively inhibits Merkel cell carcinoma cell growthTherapeutic advances in medical oncology · 2020Article
- Effect of the Large and Small T-Antigens of Human Polyomaviruses on Signaling Pathways.International journal of molecular sciences · 2019Review
- The biology and treatment of Merkel cell carcinoma: current understanding and research priorities.Nature reviews. Clinical oncology · 2018Review
- Abnormal activation of the Akt signaling pathway in adenoid cystic carcinoma.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a highly aggressive skin cancer with an increasing incidence. The understanding of the molecular carcinogenesis of MCC is limited. Here, we scrutinized the PI3K/AKT pathway, one of the major pathways activated in human cancer, in MCC. Immunohistochemical analysis of 41 tumor tissues and 9 MCC cell lines revealed high levels of AKT phosphorylation at threonine 308 in 88% of samples. Notably, the AKT phosphorylation was not correlated with the presence or absence of the Merkel cell polyoma virus (MCV). Accordingly, knock-down of the large and small T antigen by shRNA in MCV positive MCC cells did not affect phosphorylation of AKT. We also analyzed 46 MCC samples for activating PIK3CA and AKT1 mutations. Oncogenic PIK3CA mutations were found in 2/46 (4%) MCCs whereas mutations in exon 4 of AKT1 were absent. MCC cell lines demonstrated a high sensitivity towards the PI3K inhibitor LY-294002. This finding together with our observation that the PI3K/AKT pathway is activated in the majority of human MCCs identifies PI3K/AKT as a potential new therapeutic target for MCC patients.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.