Tony Hunter
Cell biologist who showed that tyrosine phosphorylation is a master on/off switch for proteins, work that informed cancer drugs such as Gleevec; his lab also studied the TSC/Rheb/mTOR/S6K feedback to insulin signalling.
American Cancer Society Professor and Renato Dulbecco Chair, Salk Institute · BA and PhD, University of Cambridge · Fellow of the Royal Society (1987) · Wolf Prize in Medicine (2005)
Portrait: Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Tony Hunter studies how cells use phosphate groups added to and removed from proteins to switch them on and off. He showed that tyrosine phosphorylation is a master switch for many proteins, and this work informed the design of the leukemia drug Gleevec. He works at the Salk Institute and trained at the University of Cambridge.
In the 2004 paper in this Atlas, Hunter was the last author with O. Jameel Shah and Zhiyong Wang. In cultured cells, the team showed that when the TSC/Rheb/mTOR/S6K chain is switched on too much, the cells lose two insulin-signalling proteins, IRS1 and IRS2. The result is cellular insulin resistance and weaker survival signals.
Together with a companion paper, this helped establish a negative feedback loop in which S6K1 dampens insulin signalling. It links overactive mTOR to insulin resistance, though this paper used cultured cells.
Milestones in the Atlas
A selection, not a full bibliography: only papers that meet the Atlas inclusion criteria.
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | M | Inappropriate activation of the TSC/Rheb/mTOR/S6K cassette induces IRS1/2 depletion, insulin resistance, and cell survival deficiencies SHA2004 Last author. Constant activity in the Rheb/mTOR/S6K chain depletes IRS1 and IRS2 in cultured cells, causing insulin resistance and impaired survival signalling. |
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