Raptor, a binding partner of target of rapamycin (TOR), mediates TOR action

Hara K, Maruki Y, Long X, Yoshino K, Oshiro N, Hidayat S, Tokunaga C, Avruch J, Yonezawa K · 2002 · Cell · Atlas ID HARA2002

What this study shows

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 - confirming Raptor as a core, conserved mediator of TOR action.

Abstract

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mTOR controls cell growth, in part by regulating p70 S6 kinase alpha (p70alpha) and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E binding protein 1 (4EBP1). Raptor is a 150 kDa mTOR binding protein that also binds 4EBP1 and p70alpha. The binding of raptor to mTOR is necessary for the mTOR-catalyzed phosphorylation of 4EBP1 in vitro, and it strongly enhances the mTOR kinase activity toward p70alpha. Rapamycin or amino acid withdrawal increases, whereas insulin strongly inhibits, the recovery of 4EBP1 and raptor on 7-methyl-GTP Sepharose.

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At a glance

Evidence type	M Molecular — cells, biochemistry, structure Marked M because it is molecular or in-vitro work (model: Human cells + C. elegans RNAi) rather than a whole-organism health-outcome study. That is often exactly where causal biology gets established -- the code says which system the finding was shown in, and nothing about how good the work is.
Study type	5 - Mechanistic / In Vitro
Model system	Human cells + C. elegans RNAi
Journal	Cell
Year	2002
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-08-22
Source	DOI 10.1016/s0092-8674(02)00833-4 · PMID 12150926

Extracted findings

Intervention	Biochemical/genetic (raptor; C. elegans RNAi)
Target	mTOR / raptor / 4EBP1 / S6K
Model	Human cells + C. elegans
Effect	Raptor binds mTOR and its substrates (4EBP1, p70S6K) and is required for mTOR-catalyzed phosphorylation

In the Atlas

Cite this paper

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Hara, K., Maruki, Y., Long, X., Yoshino, K., Oshiro, N., Hidayat, S., Tokunaga, C., Avruch, J., & Yonezawa, K. (2002). Raptor, a binding partner of target of rapamycin (TOR), mediates TOR action. Cell. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0092-8674(02)00833-4

@article{HARA2002,
  author       = {Hara, K. and Maruki, Y. and Long, X. and Yoshino, K. and Oshiro, N. and Hidayat, S. and Tokunaga, C. and Avruch, J. and Yonezawa, K.},
  title        = {{Raptor, a binding partner of target of rapamycin (TOR), mediates TOR action}},
  journal      = {Cell},
  year         = {2002},
  doi          = {10.1016/s0092-8674(02)00833-4},
  note         = {PMID: 12150926},
}

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 HARA2002) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/HARA2002/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_HARA2002,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record HARA2002},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/HARA2002/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}