AKT1 and cancer: Adipocyte-derived factors bind to receptors on cancer cells and initiate intracellular signaling pathways, especially PI3K-AKT and MAPK pathways, to promote cell survival (23), proliferation (24, 25), and mammosphere formation (26, 27).We observed elevated phosphorylation levels of Akt, FoxO, and p38 MAPK in breast cancer cells when exposed to Adipo-CM and reduced activation upon adipocytic TAZ silencing (Fig. 2G).