mTOR Signaling Pathways

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Encyclopedia of Molecular Pharmacology

Synonyms

Mechanistic/mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 signaling network

Definition

mTOR: A master regulator protein kinase hub which controls a variety of anabolic or catabolic cellular processes, such as protein synthesis, ribosomal biosynthesis, and autophagy, among others.

Basic Characteristics

Mechanistic (or mammalian) target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a highly conserved Ser/Thr protein kinase that governs versatile cellular signaling networks to regulate a wide range of anabolic and catabolic processes. It plays central roles in maintaining normal cellular functions and, when dysregulated, in diverse diseases. mTOR forms two quite distinct types of multiprotein complexes (mTOR complexes 1 and 2). The complexes are activated by different signals and exert their physiological effects via the distinct downstream substrates which it phosphorylates (**e and Proud 2014).

Both mTORC1 and mTORC2 contain the core component mTOR, plus mLST8 (mammalian ortholog of lethal with sec thirtee...

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Correspondence to Christopher G. Proud .

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**e, J., Proud, C.G. (2021). mTOR Signaling Pathways. In: Offermanns, S., Rosenthal, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Molecular Pharmacology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57401-7_10068

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