Intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) apoptosis induced by hypoxia compromise intestinal epithelium barrier function. Both Akt and Hsp90 have cytoprotective function. However, the specific role of Akt and

in IEC apoptosis induced by hypoxia has not been explored. We confirmed that hypoxia-induced apoptosis was reduced by

overexpression but enhanced by decreasing

expression.

overexpression enhanced BAD phosphorylation and thus reduced mitochondrial release of cytochrome C. Reducing

expression had opposite effects. The protective effect of

against apoptosis was negated by LY294002, an Akt inhibitor. Further study showed that Akt phosphorylation was enhanced by

, which was not due to the activation of upstream PI3K and PDK1 but because of stabilization of pAkt via direct interaction between

and pAkt. These results demonstrate that

may play a significant role in protecting IECs from hypoxia-induced apoptosis via stabilizing pAkt to phosphorylate BAD and reduce cytochrome C release.