The kinase mTOR regulates the differentiation of helper T cells through the selective activation of signaling by mTORC1 and mTORC2

Delgoffe GM, Pollizzi KN, Waickman AT, Heikamp E, Meyers DJ, Horton MR, Xiao B, Worley PF, Powell JD · 2011 · Nature immunology · Atlas ID DEL2011

What this study shows

mTORC1 and mTORC2 selectively program distinct CD4 helper T-cell lineages.

Abstract

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The kinase mTOR has emerged as an important regulator of the differentiation of helper T cells. Here we demonstrate that differentiation into the T(H)1 and T(H)17 subsets of helper T cells was selectively regulated by signaling from mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) that was dependent on the small GTPase Rheb. Rheb-deficient T cells failed to generate T(H)1 and T(H)17 responses in vitro and in vivo and did not induce classical experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). However, they retained their ability to become T(H)2 cells.

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At a glance

Evidence type	A Animal model Marked A because it is an animal intervention or observation study measuring an organismal outcome (model: Mouse); the code names the system studied -- animal work can be rigorous and still not be human data.
Study type	4 - Animal Study
Model system	Mouse
Journal	Nature immunology
Year	2011
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-10-01
Source	DOI 10.1038/ni.2005 · PMID 21358638 · Free full text (PMC3077821)

Extracted findings

These fields were extracted from the paper with AI assistance and have not been checked against the source. Read them as a pointer into the paper, not as curated claims; where they disagree with the curated summary above, the curated summary stands.

Intervention	Genetic (Rheb/mTORC1; mTORC2)
Target	mTORC1 (Rheb) & mTORC2
Model	Mouse
Effect	mTORC1 (Rheb-dependent) selectively drives Th1/Th17 differentiation while mTORC2 controls Th2
Dose	not stated
Sample size	not stated
Effect size	Nearly 60% (on average) of MOG-immunized T- Rheb −/− mice developed 'non-classical EAE'.
Limitations	not stated

In the Atlas

Links in the pathway map

Supports Rheb activates mTORC1

Cite this paper

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Delgoffe, G. M., Pollizzi, K. N., Waickman, A. T., Heikamp, E., Meyers, D. J., Horton, M. R., Xiao, B., Worley, P. F., & Powell, J. D. (2011). The kinase mTOR regulates the differentiation of helper T cells through the selective activation of signaling by mTORC1 and mTORC2. Nature immunology. https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2005

@article{DEL2011,
  author       = {Delgoffe, G. M. and Pollizzi, K. N. and Waickman, A. T. and Heikamp, E. and Meyers, D. J. and Horton, M. R. and Xiao, B. and Worley, P. F. and Powell, J. D.},
  title        = {{The kinase mTOR regulates the differentiation of helper T cells through the selective activation of signaling by mTORC1 and mTORC2}},
  journal      = {Nature immunology},
  year         = {2011},
  doi          = {10.1038/ni.2005},
  note         = {PMID: 21358638},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper.

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record DEL2011) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/DEL2011/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_DEL2011,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record DEL2011},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/DEL2011/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}

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