mTOR+pathway


 * A Closer Look at the mTOR Signaling Pathway **




 * Figure 1:** The mTOR pathway stands for mammalian target of rapamycin pathway. The hyperactivation of this pathway is significant to the unrestricted growth that is characteristic of tumor cells because the pathway is responsible for controlling the ATP:AMP ratio. This ratio determines the energy available to the cell for regulating cell division as mitosis and synthesizing all of the replication proteins and machinery require a great input of energy (Mohammad et al. 2013). If the mTOR pathway is overactivated and running at a higher caliber than it should in a normal cell, we start to see cell proliferation happening at a much faster rate and in an unchecked manner. Cells carrying mutations turn out and can develop into malignant neoplasms (Mohammad et al. 2013) (mTOR Signaling Pathway 2014).

When active, mTOR activates transcription factors that lead to mitochondrial metabolism and adipogenesis and also suppressed autophagy (mTOR Signaling Pathway 2014). Downstream of mTOR is Akt which is important in promoting cellular survival. Increased mTOR signaling can lead to cancer and metabolic disorders. It is suppressed by TSC2 which is turned on by the active AMP Kinase (mTOR Signaling Pathway 2014).