Inspecting the Role of PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway in Cancer Development Using an In Silico Modeling and Simulation Approach

PI3K/AKT signaling pathway plays a crucial role in the control of functions related to cancer biology, including cellular proliferation, survival, migration, angiogenesis and apoptosis; what makes this signaling pathway one of the main processes involved in cancer development. The analysis and prediction of the anticancer targets acting over the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway requires of a deep understanding of its signaling elements, the complex interactions that take place between them, as well as the global behaviors that arise as a result, that is, a systems biology approach. Following this methodology, in this work, we propose an in silico modeling and simulation approach of the PI3K class I and III signaling pathways, for exploring its effect over AKT and SGK proteins, its relationship with the deregulated growth control in cancer, its role in metastasis, as well as for identifying possible control points. The in silico approach provides symbolic abstractions and accurate algorithms that allow dealing with crucial aspects of the cellular signal transduction such as compartmentalization, topology and timing. Our results show that the activation or inhibition of target signaling elements in the overall signaling pathway can change the outcome of the cell, turning it into apoptosis or proliferation.