PTEN and cancer: Upon inactivation of the tumor suppressor PTEN, the activity of the PI3K-Akt pathway increases, resulting in the elevated expression of Nrf2, which promotes cell proliferation (134); N-cadherin expression, a marker protein of EMT, was suppressed in cancer cells in which Nrf2 was inhibited or knocked down (135, 136), whereas E-cadherin expression was decreased in cancer cells in which Nrf2 was overexpressed (137).