In line with this assumption, earlier studies described that the IL-18-induced VCAM-1 protein expression in rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts and the TNF-α-induced VCAM-1 expression in human cardiac fibroblasts [62] are controlled by the Src/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway [39]. Here, AKT1 is linked to rheumatoid arthritis.