mTOR signaling at a glance

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway integrates both intracellular and extracellular signals and serves as a central regulator of cell metabolism, growth, proliferation and survival. Discoveries that have been made over the last decade show that the mTOR pathway is activated during various cellular processes (e.g. tumor formation and angiogenesis, insulin resistance, adipogenesis and T-lymphocyte activation) and is deregulated in human diseases such as cancer and type 2 diabetes. These observations have attracted broad scientific and clinical interest in mTOR. This is highlighted by the growing use of mTOR inhibitors [rapamycin and its analogues (rapalogues)] in pathological settings,…