mTOR, the mechanistic target of rapamycin, is a protein kinase that senses nutrient supply, especially amino acids, and drives cell growth and protein synthesis when supply is plentiful. It broadly opposes AMPK. A compound filed under this mechanism may either raise or lower mTOR activity, because the label names the pathway and not the direction of travel.

Why it matters here

Direction matters more here than almost anywhere else on the site. The muscle literature is interested in raising mTOR activity and the longevity literature in lowering it, and one word covers both, so the record has to state which.

Also called

• mtor
• mtor pathway
• mtor activation
• mechanistic target of rapamycin signalling

mTOR originally stood for mammalian target of rapamycin and was renamed mechanistic target of rapamycin. Both expansions name the same protein, and older sources use the first.

Compounds carrying this term

• IGF-1 LR3

See also

• AMPK Signaling — Mechanism of Action
• Energy Sensing — Biological Pathway
• Longevity — Reported Outcome