mTOR [mammalian (or mechanistic) target of rapamycin] is a protein kinase that, as part of mTORC1 (mTOR complex 1), acts as a critical molecular link between growth signals and the processes underlying cell growth. Although there has been intense interest in the upstream mechanisms regulating mTORC1, the full repertoire of downstream molecular events through which mTORC1 signalling promotes cell growth is only recently coming to light. It is now recognized that mTORC1 promotes cell growth and proliferation in large part through the activation of key anabolic processes. Through a variety of downstream targets, mTORC1 alters cellular metabolism to drive the biosynthesis of building blocks and macromolecules fundamentally essential for cell growth, including proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. In the present review, we focus on the metabolic functions of mTORC1 as they relate to the control of cell growth and proliferation. As mTORC1 is aberrantly activated in a number of tumour syndromes and up to 80% of human cancers, we also discuss the importance of this mTORC1-driven biosynthetic programme in tumour growth and progression.
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August 2013
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Conference Article|
July 18 2013
A growing role for mTOR in promoting anabolic metabolism
Jessica J. Howell;
Jessica J. Howell
1Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, SPH2-117, Boston, MA 02115, U.S.A.
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Stéphane J.H. Ricoult;
Stéphane J.H. Ricoult
1Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, SPH2-117, Boston, MA 02115, U.S.A.
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Issam Ben-Sahra;
Issam Ben-Sahra
1Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, SPH2-117, Boston, MA 02115, U.S.A.
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Brendan D. Manning
Brendan D. Manning
1
1Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, SPH2-117, Boston, MA 02115, U.S.A.
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (emailbmanning@hsph.harvard.edu).
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
April 02 2013
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2013 Biochemical Society
2013
Biochem Soc Trans (2013) 41 (4): 906–912.
Article history
Received:
April 02 2013
Citation
Jessica J. Howell, Stéphane J.H. Ricoult, Issam Ben-Sahra, Brendan D. Manning; A growing role for mTOR in promoting anabolic metabolism. Biochem Soc Trans 1 August 2013; 41 (4): 906–912. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20130041
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