AKT1 and cancer: Since the activated Akt, phospho-Akt (P-Akt), or STAT3, phospho-STAT3 (P-STAT), confers resistance to apoptosis through up-regulating the antiapoptotic proteins, such as Mcl-1 in cancer cells [32], to further understand the resistance of MPM cells to PI-induced apoptosis, we examined P-Akt and P-STAT3 levels in the PI-treated MPM cells.