AKT1 and colonic neoplasm: Colon cancer cell line; The Akt1-/-and Akt2-/-HCT116 colon cancer cell line was a gift from Dr. Bert Vogelstein (Johns Hopkins University) (Ericson et al., 2010). These cells were authenticated by western blot showing the absence of Akt and by the lack of signaling response to growth factors. They were also shown to be mycoplasma-free by PCR testing.