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Query: UNIPROT:P42345 (mTOR)
 26,049 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is an evolutionarily conserved serine/threonine protein kinase implicated in a wide array of cellular processes such as cell growth, proliferation, and survival. Analogous to the situation in yeast, mTOR forms two distinct functional complexes termed mTOR complex 1 and 2 (mTORC1 and mTORC2). mTORC1 activity is inhibited by rapamycin, a specific inhibitor of mTOR, whereas mTORC2 activity is resistant to short-term treatments with rapamycin. In response to growth factors, mTORC2 phosphorylates Akt, an essential kinase involved in cell survival. On the other hand, mTORC1 can be activated by both growth factors and nutrients such as glucose and amino acids. In turn, mTORC1 regulates the activity of the translational machinery by modulating S6 kinase (S6K) activity and eIF4E binding protein 1 (4E-BP1) through direct phosphorylation. Consequently, protein synthesis and cell growth are stimulated in a variety of different cell types. In addition, mTORC1 inhibits autophagy, an essential protein degradation and recycling system, which cells employ to sustain their viability in times of limited availability of nutrients. Recent studies have highlighted the fact that autophagy plays crucial roles in many aspects of human health including cancer development, neurodegenerative disease, diabetes, and aging. It is likely that dysregulation of the mTOR-autophagy pathway may contribute at least in part to these human disorders. Therefore, the assessment of mTOR activity is important to understand the status of autophagy in the cells being analyzed and its role in autophagy-related disorders. In this section, we describe methods to monitor mTOR activity both in vitro and in vivo.
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PMID:Monitoring mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) activity. 1920 Aug 82

The AMP-activated serine/threonine protein kinase (AMPK) is a sensor of cellular energy status found in all eukaryotes that is activated under conditions of low intracellular ATP following stresses such as nutrient deprivation or hypoxia. In the past 5 years, work from a large number of laboratories has revealed that one of the major downstream signalling pathways regulated by AMPK is the mammalian target-of-rapamycin [mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway]. Interestingly, like AMPK, the mTOR serine/threonine kinase plays key roles not only in growth control and cell proliferation but also in metabolism. Recent work has revealed that across eukaryotes mTOR orthologues are found in two biochemically distinct complexes and only one of those complexes (mTORC1 in mammals) is acutely sensitive to rapamycin and regulated by nutrients and AMPK. Many details of the molecular mechanism by which AMPK inhibits mTORC1 signalling have also been decoded in the past 5 years. AMPK directly phosphorylates at least two proteins to induce rapid suppression of mTORC1 activity, the TSC2 tumour suppressor and the critical mTORC1 binding subunit raptor. Here we explore the molecular connections between AMPK and mTOR signalling pathways and examine the physiological processes in which AMPK regulation of mTOR is critical for growth or metabolic control. The functional conservation of AMPK and TOR in all eukaryotes, and the sequence conservation around the AMPK phosphorylation sites in raptor across all eukaryotes examined suggest that this represents a fundamental cell growth module connecting nutrient status to the cell growth machinery. These findings have broad implications for the control of cell growth by nutrients in a number of cellular and organismal contexts.
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PMID:LKB1 and AMP-activated protein kinase control of mTOR signalling and growth. 1924 54

Autophagy is a degradative process that recycles long-lived and faulty cellular components. It is linked to many diseases and is required for normal development. ULK1, a mammalian serine/threonine protein kinase, plays a key role in the initial stages of autophagy, though the exact molecular mechanism is unknown. Here we report identification of a novel protein complex containing ULK1 and two additional protein factors, FIP200 and ATG13, all of which are essential for starvation-induced autophagy. Both FIP200 and ATG13 are critical for correct localization of ULK1 to the pre-autophagosome and stability of ULK1 protein. Additionally, we demonstrate by using both cellular experiments and a de novo in vitro reconstituted reaction that FIP200 and ATG13 can enhance ULK1 kinase activity individually but both are required for maximal stimulation. Further, we show that ATG13 and ULK1 are phosphorylated by the mTOR pathway in a nutrient starvation-regulated manner, indicating that the ULK1.ATG13.FIP200 complex acts as a node for integrating incoming autophagy signals into autophagosome biogenesis.
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PMID:ULK1.ATG13.FIP200 complex mediates mTOR signaling and is essential for autophagy. 1925 18

The potent immunosuppressive action of rapamycin is commonly ascribed to inhibition of growth factor-induced T cell proliferation. However, it is now evident that the serine/threonine protein kinase mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) has an important role in the modulation of both innate and adaptive immune responses. mTOR regulates diverse functions of professional antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells (DCs), and has important roles in the activation of effector T cells and the function and proliferation of regulatory T cells. In this Review, we discuss our current understanding of the mTOR pathway and the consequences of mTOR inhibition, both in DCs and T cells, including new data on the regulation of forkhead box P3 expression.
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PMID:Immunoregulatory functions of mTOR inhibition. 1939 May 66

Despite the recent identification of the transcriptional regulatory circuitry involving SOX2, NANOG, and OCT-4, the intracellular signaling networks that control pluripotency of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) remain largely undefined. Here, we demonstrate an essential role for the serine/threonine protein kinase mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) in regulating hESC long-term undifferentiated growth. Inhibition of mTOR impairs pluripotency, prevents cell proliferation, and enhances mesoderm and endoderm activities in hESCs. At the molecular level, mTOR integrates signals from extrinsic pluripotency-supporting factors and represses the transcriptional activities of a subset of developmental and growth-inhibitory genes, as revealed by genome-wide microarray analyses. Repression of the developmental genes by mTOR is necessary for the maintenance of hESC pluripotency. These results uncover a novel signaling mechanism by which mTOR controls fate decisions in hESCs. Our findings may contribute to effective strategies for tissue repair and regeneration.
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PMID:mTOR supports long-term self-renewal and suppresses mesoderm and endoderm activities of human embryonic stem cells. 1941 84

The serine/threonine protein kinase, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is regulated by insulin and nutrient availability and has been proposed to play a central role as a nutrient sensor in skeletal muscle. mTOR associates with its binding partners, raptor and rictor, to form two structurally and functionally distinct complexes, mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2) respectively. We have investigated the assembly of mTORC1/2 and the activation of their downstream substrates (i.e. Akt, S6K1) in response to known effectors of mTOR, excess lipid availability and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation/exercise training in rat skeletal muscle. The in vivo formation of mTORC1 and 2 and the activation of their respective downstream substrates were increased in response to chronic (8 weeks) consumption of a high-fat diet. Diet-induced mTORC activation and skeletal muscle insulin resistance were reversed by 4 weeks of exercise training, which was associated with enhanced muscle AMPK activation. In order to determine whether AMPK activation reverses lipid-induced mTOR activation, L6 myotubes were exposed to 0.4 mM palmitate to activate mTORC1/2 in the absence or presence of 5'-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-beta-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR). Palmitate exposure (4 h) increased insulin-stimulated S6K1 Thr389 phosphorylation by 60%, indicating activation of mTORC1. AMPK activation with 1 mM AICAR abolished lipid-induced mTOR activation in vitro. Our data implicates reductions in mTOR complex activation with the reversal of lipid-induced skeletal muscle insulin resistance in response to exercise training or AICAR and identifies mTOR as a potential target for the treatment of insulin resistance.
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PMID:Lipid-induced mTOR activation in rat skeletal muscle reversed by exercise and 5'-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-beta-D-ribofuranoside. 1957 45

p70S6K/p85S6K and cdc2/cdk1 are members of the serine/threonine protein kinase family. p70S6K/p85S6K is one of the downstream effectors of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signal transduction pathway. It phosphorylates S6 protein of 40S ribosomal subunit and thus functions in protein synthesis and cell growth. cdc2/cdk1 is a cyclin-dependent protein kinase that controls the cell cycle entry from G2 to M phase. Overexpression of phospho-p70S6K and cdc2/cdk1 has recently been identified in the majority of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) specimens. Combination of small molecules that target phosphorylation of p70S6K and cdc2/cdk1 synergistically induced cell apoptosis and cell cycle G1 and G2 arrest, suggesting that they are potential molecular targets for DLBCL therapy. This review will summarize recent advances in the study of phospho-p70S6K and cdc2/cdk1 as molecular markers and therapeutic targets for DLBCL. We propose that multilevel inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway and double brake at the G1 and G2 phases of the cell cycle progression are effective strategies in treating DLBCL that overexpress phospho-p70S6K and cdc2/cdk1.
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PMID:Phospho-p70S6K and cdc2/cdk1 as therapeutic targets for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. 1961 61

Intestinal cell kinase (ICK), originally cloned from the intestine and expressed in the intestinal crypt epithelium, is a highly conserved serine/threonine protein kinase that is similar to mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in the catalytic domain and requires dual phosphorylation within a MAPK-like TDY motif for full activation. Despite these similarities to MAPKs, the biological functions of ICK remain unknown. In this study, we report that suppression of ICK expression in cultured intestinal epithelial cells by short hairpin RNA (shRNA) interference significantly impaired cellular proliferation and induced features of gene expression characteristic of colonic or enterocytic differentiation. Downregulation of ICK altered expression of cell cycle regulators (cyclin D1, c-Myc, and p21(Cip1/WAF1)) of G(1)-S transition, consistent with the G(1) cell cycle delay induced by ICK shRNA. ICK deficiency also led to a significant decrease in the expression and/or activity of p70 ribosomal protein S6 kinase (S6K1) and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), concomitant with reduced expression of their upstream regulators, the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and the regulatory associated protein of mTOR (Raptor). Furthermore, ICK interacts with the mTOR/Raptor complex in vivo and phosphorylates Raptor in vitro. These results suggest that disrupting ICK function may downregulate protein translation of specific downstream targets of eIF4E and S6K1 such as cyclin D1 and c-Myc through the mTOR/Raptor signaling pathway. Taken together, our findings demonstrate an important role for ICK in proliferation and differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells.
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PMID:Intestinal cell kinase, a MAP kinase-related kinase, regulates proliferation and G1 cell cycle progression of intestinal epithelial cells. 1969 44

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is an intracellular serine/threonine protein kinase positioned at a central point in a variety of cellular signaling cascades. The established involvement of mTOR activity in the cellular processes that contribute to the development and progression of cancer has identified mTOR as a major link in tumorigenesis. Consequently, inhibitors of mTOR, including temsirolimus, everolimus, and ridaforolimus (formerly deforolimus) have been developed and assessed for their safety and efficacy in patients with cancer. Temsirolimus is an intravenously administered agent approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Everolimus is an oral agent that has recently obtained US FDA and EMEA approval for the treatment of advanced RCC after failure of treatment with sunitinib or sorafenib. Ridaforolimus is not yet approved for any indication. The use of mTOR inhibitors, either alone or in combination with other anticancer agents, has the potential to provide anticancer activity in numerous tumor types. Cancer types in which these agents are under evaluation include neuroendocrine tumors, breast cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, sarcoma, endometrial cancer, and non-small-cell lung cancer. The results of ongoing clinical trials with mTOR inhibitors, as single agents and in combination regimens, will better define their activity in cancer.
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PMID:Targeting tumorigenesis: development and use of mTOR inhibitors in cancer therapy. 1986 Sep 3

The serine/threonine protein kinase B (PKB, also known as Akt) constitutes an important node in diverse signaling cascades downstream of growth factor receptor tyrosine kinases. Akt plays an essential role in cell survival, growth, migration, proliferation, polarity, and metabolism (lipid and glucose); cell cycle progression; muscle and cardiomyocyte contractility; angiogenesis; and self-renewal of stem cells. Altered Akt activity has been associated with cancer and other disease conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, neurodegenerative diseases, and muscle hypotrophy. In the past decade, the upstream signals that lead to Akt activation, the downstream substrates that exert the effects of Akt, and the secondary binding proteins that regulate Akt activation have been well documented. Recent reports from our group and others have revealed how the stability of Akt protein is regulated through phosphorylation on its Thr-Pro motifs. This literature review details findings of those reports and others relevant to the regulation of Akt activation by its upstream kinases, with a focus on mammalian target of rapamycin complexes (mTORCs) and inactivation by PHLDA3 and the protein phosphatases PP2A and pleckstrin homology domain leucine-rich repeat protein phosphatase (PHLPP). Reports on ubiquitin-dependent Akt degradation, caspase-dependent cleavage, and the roles of molecular chaperone heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) in the regulation of Akt stability are summarized. The highlight will be on the role of "turn motif" phosphorylation and an isomerase, Pin1, in the regulation of Akt stability. We also discuss issues related to the intricate mTORC2-AktmTORC1 loop and the contradictory regulation of Akt phosphorylation and stabilization of Akt by mTORC2. Finally, we offer perspective on potential future directions for investigation, particularly on translating the knowledge we learned on the regulation of Akt stability into therapeutic intervention on human cancer with Akt alteration.
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PMID:Physiological regulation of Akt activity and stability. 2018 80


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