Stem cell guidance through the mechanistic target of rapamycin

• Published in: World journal of stem cells 2015-08, Vol.7 (7), p.999-1009
• Main Author: Maiese, Kenneth
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Apoptosis; Autophagy; Cancer; Cardiovas; cular; Erythr; Review
• ISSN: 1948-0210; 1948-0210
• DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.v7.i7.999

Stem cells offer great promise for the treatment of multiple disorders throughout the body. Critical to this premise is the ability to govern stem cell pluripotency, proliferation, and differentiation. The mechanistic target of rapamycin(mT OR), 289-kD a serine/threonine protein kinase, that is a vital component of mT OR Complex 1 and mT OR Complex 2 represents a critical pathway for the oversight of stem cell maintenance. mT OR can control the programmed cell death pathways of autophagy andapoptosis that can yield variable outcomes in stem cell survival and be reliant upon proliferative pathways that include Wnt signaling, Wnt1 inducible signaling pathway protein 1(WISP1), silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog 1(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)(SIRT1), and trophic factors. mT OR also is a necessary component for the early development and establishment of stem cells as well as having a significant impact in the regulation of the maturation of specific cell phenotypes. Yet, as a proliferative agent, mT OR can not only foster cancer stem cell development and tumorigenesis, but also mediate cell senescence under certain conditions to limit invasive cancer growth. mT OR offers an exciting target for the oversight of stem cell therapies but requires careful consideration of the diverse clinical outcomes that can be fueled by mT OR signaling pathways.