PDK1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Akt/protein kinase B inhibits apoptosis in a variety of tissue culture and animal models [42], [43], is often overexpressed in HCC [27], [28], [29], [44], [45], and is activated by sequential phosphorylation at two sites: 1) S473 by mammalian target of rapamycin complex 2 (mTORC2), autophosphorylation, and by likely other kinases; and 2) T308 by phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1).