AKT1 and cervical carcinoma: On the basis of the previous report that IL-6 induces the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1 in cervical cancer cells through a PI3K/Akt-dependent pathway [10], we tested the expression level of Mcl-1 protein and found that KP potently suppressed the IL-6-induced expression of this anti-apoptotic protein in HeLa cells.