Consistent with our data, IL-17 was previously shown to promote IL-6/IL-8 production via NF-κB/Akt and NF-κB/MAPK pathways in rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts and colonic myofibroblasts, respectively [58,59] and in partial agreement with our findings, IL-17 induced MMP-1 production via activation of c-Fos/c-Jun AP1 and NF-κB in addition to MAPK signaling in cardiac fibroblasts [49]. Here, AKT1 is linked to rheumatoid arthritis.