From Health to Pathology: illuminating the Dark Corners of mTOR signaling Dysfunction

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a crucial signaling pathway that regulates various cellular processes, including cell growth, proliferation, metabolism, and autophagy. It plays a central role in integrating signals from various environmental cues, such as nutrient availability, energy status, and growth factors. mTOR pathway involves mTORC1 and mTORC2 playing distinct roles. Akt is a protein involved in cell survival and growth that is activated by mTORC2, whereas mTORC1 stimulates cell growth and glucose metabolism. The mTOR pathway is dysregulated in several diseases, including cancer, metabolic disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. mTOR signaling is influenced by a number of proteins and pathways, including insulin-PI3K signaling, Rag GTPase, Sestrin2, SLC38A9, and CASTOR1. Moreover mTORC1 reacts to intracellular cues and external stressors that are detrimental to growth, including as DNA damage, low ATP, and hypoxia. Increased proteasome-dependent proteolysis and altered signaling pathways in cells can result from mTORC1 inhibition. Angiogenesis, proliferation, cell growth, bioenergetics, and metabolism are all impacted by the mTOR pathway. Keywords: mTOR pathway, Cell signaling mechanism, Cancer Pathology