Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Exploring the Pharmacological Action and Molecular Mechanism of Salidroside in Inhibiting MCF-7 Cell Proliferation and Migration
11:13

Exploring the Pharmacological Action and Molecular Mechanism of Salidroside in Inhibiting MCF-7 Cell Proliferation and Migration

Published on: June 9, 2023

mTOR signaling: implications for cancer and anticancer therapy

E Petroulakis1, Y Mamane, O Le Bacquer

  • 1Department of Biochemistry, McGill Cancer Centre, McGill University, 3655 Promenade Sir William Osler, Montreal, QUE, Canada.

British Journal of Cancer
|January 13, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Deregulated protein synthesis fuels cancer growth by affecting the eIF4F complex. Targeting the mTOR pathway with drugs like rapamycin inhibits this process, offering a promising cancer therapy.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Deregulation of protein synthesis is linked to cancer development, particularly through the eukaryotic initiation factor 4F (eIF4F) complex.
  • Components of the eIF4F complex are frequently overexpressed in various cancers, promoting malignant transformation.
  • The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway regulates eIF4F activity by phosphorylating eIF4E binding proteins.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of the mTOR signaling pathway in regulating translation initiation in cancer.
  • To explore the therapeutic potential of targeting mTOR for cancer treatment.

Main Methods:

  • The study reviews evidence linking protein synthesis, the eIF4F complex, and mTOR signaling in tumorigenesis.
  • It discusses the effects of rapamycin, an mTOR inhibitor, on cancer growth.
  • It examines the consequences of mutations in mTOR regulators on cancer development.

Main Results:

  • mTOR inhibition by rapamycin retards cancer growth.
  • Mutations in negative mTOR regulators lead to increased eIF4F formation, enhanced translation initiation, and cell growth.
  • These mutations result in cancers sensitive to rapamycin treatment.

Conclusions:

  • Targeting the mTOR signaling pathway offers a promising therapeutic strategy for inhibiting translation initiation in cancer.
  • Understanding the interplay between mTOR, eIF4F, and protein synthesis is crucial for developing novel cancer therapies.

More Related Videos

Intracellular Phosphoflow Cytometry of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patient-Derived Xenotransplants07:38

Intracellular Phosphoflow Cytometry of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patient-Derived Xenotransplants

Published on: June 6, 2025

Development of a Human Preclinical Model of Osteoclastogenesis from Peripheral Blood Monocytes Co-cultured with Breast Cancer Cell Lines06:00

Development of a Human Preclinical Model of Osteoclastogenesis from Peripheral Blood Monocytes Co-cultured with Breast Cancer Cell Lines

Published on: September 13, 2017

Related Concept Videos

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression03:03

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression

The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression03:03

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression

The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
PI3K/mTOR/AKT Signaling Pathway01:22

PI3K/mTOR/AKT Signaling Pathway

The mammalian target of rapamycin  (mTOR) is a serine/threonine kinase that regulates growth, proliferation, and cell survival in response to hormones, growth factors, or nutrient availability. This kinase exists in two structurally and functionally distinct forms: mTOR complex 1  (mTORC1) and mTOR complex 2  (mTORC2). The first form (mTORC1) is composed of a rapamycin-sensitive Raptor and proline-rich Akt substrate, PRAS40. In contrast,  mTORC2 consists of a rapamycin-insensitive companion...
Mitogens and the Cell Cycle02:38

Mitogens and the Cell Cycle

Mitogens and their receptors play a crucial role in controlling the progression of the cell cycle. However, the loss of mitogenic control over cell division leads to tumor formation. Therefore, mitogens and mitogen receptors play an important role in cancer research. For instance, the epidermal growth factor (EGF) - a type of mitogen and its transmembrane receptor (EGFR), decides the fate of the cell's proliferation. When EGF binds to EGFR, a member of the ErbB family of tyrosine kinase...
Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway02:54

Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway

The gene encoding the main signaling molecules of the Wnt signaling pathways (the Wnt proteins) was discovered almost four decades ago by Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus. They identified and originally named the gene "wingless" (wg) after a phenotype discovered during their landmark genetic screen in Drosophila for body pattern defects. At around the same time, another researcher named Harold Varmus found that a murine tumor virus activates the mammalian wg homolog, Int-1, which results in tumor...
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways01:41

Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways

Wnt is a zygotic effect gene that is expressed during very early embryonic development. It regulates various processes in animals starting from early development through the adult stage, such as organogenesis in the embryo and maintenance of neuronal and blood stem cells. Wnt proteins can induce a wide variety of intracellular pathways depending upon the specific abilities of different Wnt ligands to form a complex with shared and cognate receptors in the presence of different co-receptors. The...