Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Tropomodulin 3 Overexpression as a Marker for Platinum Resistance and Immune Infiltration in Ovarian Cancer
09:40

Tropomodulin 3 Overexpression as a Marker for Platinum Resistance and Immune Infiltration in Ovarian Cancer

Published on: August 2, 2024

Activation of mTOR in a subgroup of ovarian carcinomas: correlation with p-eIF-4E and prognosis

Aurelia Noske1, Juliane Lena Lindenberg, Silvia Darb-Esfahani

  • 1Institute of Pathology, Charité University Hospital, Campus Mitte, D-10117 Berlin, Germany. aurelia.noske@charite.de

Oncology Reports
|November 21, 2008
PubMed

Insights

New research shows that increased expression of mTOR pathway proteins, specifically phospho-mTOR (p-mTOR) and phospho-eIF-4E (p-eIF-4E), is linked to better survival in ovarian cancer patients. This suggests potential benefits from mTOR inhibitors for a subset of patients.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Ovarian carcinoma has a poor prognosis, necessitating novel molecular therapies.
  • The mTOR pathway is a promising anticancer target, but its role in ovarian tumors requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the expression and prognostic significance of mTOR signaling elements (p-mTOR, p-4E-BP1, p-eIF-4E) in ovarian lesions.
  • To explore the mechanistic effects of mTOR inhibition in ovarian cancer cell lines.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of p-mTOR, p-4E-BP1, and p-eIF-4E protein expression in 107 human ovarian lesions.
  • Assessment of correlations between protein expression, clinicopathological features, and patient survival.
  • In vitro studies using 10 ovarian cancer cell lines treated with Rapamycin.

Main Results:

  • Overexpression of p-mTOR (47%) and p-eIF-4E (56%) was observed in primary ovarian carcinomas compared to borderline tumors.
  • Increased p-mTOR correlated with p-eIF-4E and serous histological type.
  • Elevated p-4E-BP1 was associated with poor differentiation and higher mitotic rate.
  • Higher expression of p-mTOR and p-eIF-4E significantly correlated with better overall survival.
  • Rapamycin treatment reduced p-mTOR and p-4E-BP1 but increased p-AKT in cancer cell lines.

Conclusions:

  • p-mTOR and p-eIF-4E expression are associated with improved overall survival in ovarian cancer patients.
  • These findings suggest that a specific patient subgroup may benefit from mTOR pathway inhibition.
  • Future clinical trials should include biomarker testing to identify predictive markers for response to mTOR inhibitors.

More Related Videos

Testing Targeted Therapies in Cancer using Structural DNA Alteration Analysis and Patient-Derived Xenografts10:27

Testing Targeted Therapies in Cancer using Structural DNA Alteration Analysis and Patient-Derived Xenografts

Published on: July 25, 2020

Integration of Bioinformatics Approaches and Experimental Validations to Understand the Role of Notch Signaling in Ovarian Cancer09:08

Integration of Bioinformatics Approaches and Experimental Validations to Understand the Role of Notch Signaling in Ovarian Cancer

Published on: January 12, 2020

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...
Abnormal Proliferation02:23

Abnormal Proliferation

Under normal conditions, most adult cells remain in a non-proliferative state unless stimulated by internal or external factors to replace lost cells. Abnormal cell proliferation is a condition in which the cell's growth exceeds and is uncoordinated with normal cells. In such situations, cell division persists in the same excessive manner even after cessation of the stimuli, leading to persistent tumors. The tumor arises from the damaged cells that replicate to pass the damage to the daughter...
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...
Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes01:33

Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...