Interestingly, background intracellular levels of phospho-S2448 mTOR, HIF-1α and Tim-3 proteins as well as VEGF, but not PI-3K activity and secreted TNF-α, were significantly higher in AML blasts compared to healthy PLs (a quantitative breakdown is shown in Figure 5A–5H). This evidence concerns the gene VEGFA and acute myeloid leukemia.