mTOR signaling pathway and mTOR inhibitors in cancer: progress and challenges

• Published in: Cell & bioscience Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 31
• Main Authors: Zou, Zhilin, Tao, Tao, Li, Hongmei, Zhu, Xiao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 10-03-2020; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adenosine; Apoptosis; Arthritis; Autophagy; Breast cancer; Cancer; Cancer research; Cell cycle; Cell differentiation; Cell growth; Clinical trials; Colorectal cancer; Diseases; DNA damage; Fatty acids; Genes; Genetic aspects; Insulin; Kinases; Lymphocytes; Medical research; Metabolism; Metastasis; mTOR inhibitor; mTOR signaling pathway; Mutation; Osteoporosis; Physiological aspects; Protein synthesis; Proteins; Review; Signal transduction; TOR protein; Transcription (Genetics); Tumor metabolism; Tumorigenesis; Tumors; mTOR signaling pathway; mTOR inhibitor; Tumor metabolism; Autophagy; Apoptosis
• ISSN: 2045-3701; 2045-3701
• DOI: 10.1186/s13578-020-00396-1

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) regulates cell proliferation, autophagy, and apoptosis by participating in multiple signaling pathways in the body. Studies have shown that the mTOR signaling pathway is also associated with cancer, arthritis, insulin resistance, osteoporosis, and other diseases. The mTOR signaling pathway, which is often activated in tumors, not only regulates gene transcription and protein synthesis to regulate cell proliferation and immune cell differentiation but also plays an important role in tumor metabolism. Therefore, the mTOR signaling pathway is a hot target in anti-tumor therapy research. In recent years, a variety of newly discovered mTOR inhibitors have entered clinical studies, and a variety of drugs have been proven to have high activity in combination with mTOR inhibitors. The purpose of this review is to introduce the role of mTOR signaling pathway on apoptosis, autophagy, growth, and metabolism of tumor cells, and to introduce the research progress of mTOR inhibitors in the tumor field.