Title:Hitting the Golden TORget: Curcumin’s Effects on mTOR Signaling
VOLUME: 13 ISSUE: 7
Author(s):Christopher S. Beevers, Hongyu Zhou and Shile Huang
Affiliation:Department of Pharmacology, Ross University School of Medicine, 630 US Hwy 1, North Brunswick, NJ 08902, USA.
Keywords:Curcumin, mTOR, Akt, Cancer, Cell proliferation, Cell death.
Abstract:The polyphenol natural product curcumin possesses a plethora of biological and pharmacological properties. For years, much
interest has been placed in the development and use of curcumin and its derivatives for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular,
diabetic, and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as cancer. Increasing evidence suggests that curcumin displays amazing molecular
versatility, and the number of its proposed cellular targets grows as the research continues. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)
is a master kinase, regulating cell growth/proliferation, survival, and motility. Dysregulated mTOR signaling occurs frequently in cancer,
and targeting mTOR signaling is a promising strategy for cancer therapy. Recent studies have identified mTOR as a novel target of
curcumin. Here we focus on reviewing current knowledge regarding the effects of curcumin on mTOR signaling for better understanding
the anticancer mechanism of curcumin. The emerging studies of mTOR signaling and clinical studies on curcumin with cancer patients
are also discussed here.
