Defining subunit of mTORC1; scaffold that presents substrates (S6K1, 4E-BP1) to mTOR. Its presence is what makes a complex 'mTORC1'.
| Tier | What it means | Studies |
|---|---|---|
| D | Mechanistic / in vitro / review | 7 |
No direct human evidence in the Atlas for this entity yet — everything below rests on animal or mechanistic work.
| Study | Year | Tier | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| GWI2008 | 2008 | D | Found a SECOND way the energy sensor AMPK shuts mTORC1 down. Besides acting through TSC2, AMPK directly phosphorylates Raptor - the core mTORC1 subunit - to halt growth when energy runs low. This 'met |
| CUN2007 | 2007 | D | Showed mTOR isn't just about building proteins - it also runs the cell's POWER plants. mTORC1 drives mitochondrial gene expression and oxygen consumption through a YY1-PGC-1alpha transcriptional progr |
| SAN2007 | 2007 | D | Identified PRAS40 as the missing insulin-controlled brake INSIDE mTORC1. When insulin is absent PRAS40 clamps the complex shut; insulin makes Akt phosphorylate PRAS40, releasing the brake so Rheb can |
| GUE2006 | 2006 | D | The definitive genetic 'dissection' of the two complexes in living mice. Deleting Raptor was lethal early (mTORC1 essential); deleting Rictor or mLST8 selectively knocked out mTORC2 signaling to Akt a |
| KIM2003 | 2003 | D | Discovered mLST8 (GbetaL), the third core subunit that clamps onto mTOR's kinase domain and stabilizes the complex. It fine-tunes how tightly Raptor holds mTOR in response to nutrients - a small but e |
| HARA2002 | 2002 | D | Independent co-discovery of Raptor (same issue of Cell as Kim 2002). Showed Raptor is essential for mTOR to phosphorylate 4E-BP1 and S6K1, and that knocking it down in worms mimics loss of TOR - confi |
| KIM2002 | 2002 | D | Discovery of Raptor as the defining partner of mTOR in mTORC1. This is the paper that gives mTORC1 its identity: Raptor is the scaffold that lets mTOR find and phosphorylate its targets (S6K1), and th |