Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 6a, b, the miR-145 mimics and sh-AKT3 significantly increased DDP-induced apoptosis in ESCC cells, while co-transfection of miR-145 mimics and pcDNA3.1-AKT3 plasmids had no significant effect on DDP-induced apoptosis. Here, AKT3 is linked to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.