PTK2 and neoplasm: ,44 To confirm that the activation of the FAK/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway is required for TIMP1-induced tumor progression in TC, we performed biological experiments and found that the FAK/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway was activated by exogenous TIMP1 expression or inhibited by deletion of TIMP1 expression, and selective FAK or PI3K inhibitors abolish the stimulation of TIMP1 on the progression of TC.