PIK3CA

PIK3CA, or phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha isoform, alias PI3K-alpha. PIK3CA is encoded by the human PIK3CA gene, which is located on chromosome 3 in the q26.3 region, contains 21 exons, encodes 1,068 amino acids, and produces a group of proteins that are 124 kD long.
The mechanism of action of PIK3CA involves Catalyzing the conversion of the membrane lipid phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2] to the second messenger PI(3,4,5)P3 (also known as PIP3), which activates the AKT-mTOR signaling pathway and promotes cell survival, proliferation, growth, and motility.
PIK3CA is one of the most commonly mutated genes in cancer, and its activating mutation has been observed in breast, endometrial, and bladder cancers, colorectal cancer and other cancers, which are involved in tumorigenesis, progression and metastatic colonization. Mutations in the PIK3CA gene lead to the upregulation of the PI3K/AKT pathway level, which in turn is involved in tumorigenesis.