AKT1 and cancer: To explore the molecular mechanism of miR-1249-induced cancer progression, here, we noted that overexpressing miR-1249 decreased the expression of VEGFA, phosphorylated VEGFR2 (p-VEGFR2), phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) and phosphorylated mTOR (p-mTOR), and upregulation of VEGFA could countact the downregulation of p-VEGFR2, p-Akt and p-mTOR in HCT116 and HT29 cells (Fig. 8a).