After stimulation with HMGB1 for 0.5–4 h, increased phosphorylation of AKT (both p-AKTS473 and p-AKTT308) and ERK(1/2) was observed mainly in GCB-DLBCL cell lines, although increased phosphorylation of p-STAT3Y705 was seen in both subtypes of DLBCL cells (Fig. 1a). Here, AKT1 is linked to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.