Functional involvement of Akt signaling downstream of Jak1 in v-Abl-induced activation of hematopoietic cells.

Activation of intracellular signaling pathways is important for cellular transformation and tumorigenesis. The nonreceptor tyrosine kinases Jak1 and Jak3, which bind to the v-Abl oncoprotein, are constitutively activated in cells transformed with the Abelson murine leukemia virus. A mutant of p160 v-Abl lacking the Jak1-binding region (v-Abl Delta858-1080) has a significant defect in Jak/STAT (signal transducers and activators of transcription) activation, cytokine-independent cell growth/survival, and tumorigenesis. To identify the pathways downstream of Jak kinases in v-Abl-mediated signaling, we examined the activation of several signaling molecules by p160 v-Abl or the v-Abl Delta858-1080 mutant. We demonstrate that, in addition to the decreased Ras activation, signaling through phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase and Akt are impaired in cells expressing mutant v-Abl. The proliferative defect of v-Abl Delta858-1080 was rescued by activated v-Akt and was also moderately rescued by activated v-H-Ras. However, constitutive active phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (p110CAAX) did not complement this effect. Cells expressing v-Abl Delta858-1080 demonstrated reduced tumor formation in nude mice. In contrast, cells coexpressing v-Akt with v-Abl Delta858-1080 demonstrated reduced latency and increased frequency of tumor formation in nude nice compared with cells expressing v-Abl Delta858-1080 alone, whereas v-H-Ras or p110CAAX had minimum effects on tumor formation. These results suggest that Jak1-dependent Akt activation is important in v-Abl-mediated transformation.