AKT1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: In addition, the results of parallel experiments by transfection of AKT plasmid consistently illustrated an abrogated inhibitory effect of PP, further confirming the involvement of PI3K/Akt signaling cascade (Fig. 2B and 2C).The deregulation of PI3K/AKT pathway significantly contributed to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma [57].