PIK3CA and cancer: For example, Wandosell and colleagues demonstrated that knockdown of AKT1 (and to a lesser extent AKT2) in the human triple negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 reduces CSC-like phenotypes and EMT characteristics in breast cancer cells, suggesting a reliance on flux through the PI3K/AKT pathway for maintenance of EMP and cancer cell stemness (Gargini et al., 2015).