Notably, downregulation of PGK1 expression by siRNAs (Additional file 1: Fig. S4) inhibited the stimulation of Akt phosphorylation (Fig. 4g), invasion (Fig. 4h), and soft agar colony formation (Fig. 4i) by NSCLC cells that otherwise occurred after downregulation of pro-SFTPB expression, suggesting that downregulation of pro-SFTPB promotes Akt pathway-regulated NSCLC progression by upregulating PGK1 levels. The gene discussed is SFTPB; the disease is non-small cell lung carcinoma.