Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 27, 2025

Isolation of Primary Mouse Hepatocytes for Nascent Protein Synthesis Analysis by Non-radioactive L-azidohomoalanine Labeling Method
Published on: October 23, 2018
AMPK and TOR: The Yin and Yang of Cellular Nutrient Sensing and Growth Control
Asier González1, Michael N Hall1, Sheng-Cai Lin2
1Biozentrum, University of Basel, CH4056 Basel, Switzerland.
Abstract:
The AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) and TOR (target-of-rapamycin) pathways are interlinked, opposing signaling pathways involved in sensing availability of nutrients and energy and regulation of cell growth. AMPK (Yin, or the "dark side") is switched on by lack of energy or nutrients and inhibits cell growth, while TOR (Yang, or the "bright side") is switched on by nutrient availability and promotes cell growth. Genes encoding the AMPK and TOR complexes are found in almost all eukaryotes, suggesting that these pathways arose very early during eukaryotic evolution. During the development of multicellularity, an additional tier of cell-extrinsic growth control arose that is mediated by growth factors, but these often act by modulating nutrient uptake so that AMPK and TOR remain the underlying regulators of cellular growth control. In this review, we discuss the evolution, structure, and regulation of the AMPK and TOR pathways and the complex mechanisms by which they interact.
Related Concept Videos
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
PI3K/mTOR/AKT Signaling Pathway
cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase Pathways
Global Regulatory Systems
Regulation of Metabolism
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...

