Akt activation enhances ribosomal RNA synthesis through casein kinase II and TIF-IA

Significance Ribosomal proteins are synthesized in the nucleolus under the control of a number of repetitive DNA elements and are required for cell proliferation. Cancer cells frequently contain mutations that activate the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt signaling pathway. This study shows that activation of Akt enhances the transcription of ribosomal genes by stabilizing a protein, transcription initiation factor I (TIF-IA), which is essential for the transcription of ribosomal DNA. Activated Akt also increases ribosomal RNA synthesis by phosphorylating casein kinase 2, which in turn phosphorylates and enhances the activity of TIF-IA. These results demonstrate new mechanisms by which the activation of Akt can promote tumor cell proliferation and further support the targeting of activated Akt as a potential therapy for certain cancers.