Open AccessmTOR Signaling from Cellular Senescence to Organismal Aging
Author(s) -
Shaohua Xu,
Ying Cai,
Yuehua Wei
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
aging and disease
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.808
H-Index - 54
ISSN - 2152-5250
DOI - 10.14336/ad.2014.0500263
Subject(s) - senescence , pi3k/akt/mtor pathway , longevity , biology , cellular senescence , cellular aging , mechanistic target of rapamycin , mechanism (biology) , microbiology and biotechnology , neuroscience , bioinformatics , signal transduction , phenotype , genetics , telomere , dna , philosophy , epistemology , gene
The TOR (target of rapamycin) pathway has been convincingly shown to promote aging in various model organisms. In mice, inhibiting mTOR (mammalian TOR) by rapamycin treatment later in life can significantly extend lifespan and mitigate multiple age-related diseases. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Cellular senescence is strongly correlated to organismal aging therefore providing an attractive model to examine the mechanisms by which mTOR inhibition contributes to longevity and delaying the onset of related diseases. In this review, we examine the connections between mTOR and cellular senescence and discuss how understanding cellular senescence on the aspect of mTOR signaling may help to fully appreciate its role in the organismal aging. We also highlight the opposing roles of senescence in various human diseases and discuss the caveats in interpreting the emerging experimental data.