Abstract
Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a PI3K-related kinase that regulates cell growth, proliferation, and survival via mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTORC2. The mTOR pathway is often aberrantly activated in cancers. While hypoxia, nutrient deprivation, and DNA damage restrain mTORC1 activity, multiple genetic events constitutively activate mTOR in cancers. Here we provide a brief overview of the signaling pathways up- and downstream of mTORC1 and -2, and discuss the insights into therapeutic anticancer targets - both those that have been tried in the clinic with limited success and those currently under clinical development - that knowledge of these pathways gives us.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Review
MeSH terms
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Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use
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Clinical Trials as Topic
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Neoplasms / drug therapy*
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Neoplasms / metabolism*
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Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / metabolism
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Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors
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Protein Kinase Inhibitors / therapeutic use
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Signal Transduction / drug effects
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Sirolimus / analogs & derivatives
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Sirolimus / therapeutic use
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TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors*
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Transcription Factors / antagonists & inhibitors
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Transcription Factors / metabolism
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Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 1 Protein
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Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 2 Protein
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Tumor Suppressor Proteins / metabolism
Substances
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Antineoplastic Agents
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CRTC1 protein, human
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CRTC2 protein, human
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Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors
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Protein Kinase Inhibitors
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Transcription Factors
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Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 1 Protein
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Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 2 Protein
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Tumor Suppressor Proteins
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MTOR protein, human
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TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
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Sirolimus