Roles of PI3Ks in tumors

    Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3Ks) are a family of enzymes involved in a variety of cellular functions including cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, motility, survival and intracellular trafficking, and the effects are considered to be implemented through regulating the activities of a broad range of downstream molecular effectors. Since phosphorylation of PI3K-AKT-mTOR inhibits the activity of proapoptotic members while activating anti-apoptotic members, and is considered to play an important role in cancer stem cell self-renewal and resistance to chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
     The involvement of the PI3K/Akt pathway has been observed in the immune recognition of tumor cells. For example, the PI3K/Akt-dependent mTOR pathway is reported to be essential in GM-CSF induced differentiation of DCs from monocytes[1].
     The PI3K/Akt pathway is involved in escape of tumors from immunological surveillance, immune suppression, and acquired leukocyte-like properties by cancer cells.

References
[1]. Journal of Immunology, vol. 185, no. 7, pp. 3919–3931, 2010.