AKT1 and metabolic syndrome: Interestingly, we found a diminished interaction of 14-3-3 ζ isoform with Akt in MetS hearts (Fig 6B); this isoform has been reported as an Akt-interacting protein [64] and as a substrate of Akt [65], and it has been shown that its overexpression induces Akt activation in epithelial cells [66, 67].