Rapamycin across biology and medicine: From molecular mechanisms to clinical and translational frontiers
What this study shows
Comprehensive review tracing rapamycin from its discovery as an antifungal macrolide to its identification as the founding mTOR inhibitor. Covers mTOR's role integrating nutrient/growth-factor/stress signals, established and emerging clinical applications of rapamycin/rapalogs, limitations and adverse effects of mTOR inhibition, and translational prospects for using mTOR inhibition to prevent or delay chronic disease and extend healthspan.
Abstract
ShowHide
Rapamycin is a macrolide compound originally identified for its antifungal activity and subsequently recognized as a potent inhibitor of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), a conserved signaling kinase that integrates nutrient availability, growth factor signals, and cellular stress responses to regulate cell growth and metabolism. This review examines rapamycin across biological and medical fields, covering its discovery, chemical and pharmacological properties, and the central role of mTOR as its primary molecular target.
Read the full abstract on PubMed →At a glance
ShowHide
| Evidence type | R Review — secondary literature, not a new result Marked R because it is a review or synthesis of existing evidence rather than a new primary result; that is a different form of writing, not a weaker one. |
| Study type | Narrative Review |
| Model system | Narrative review (no primary experimental model) |
| Journal | Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects |
| Year | 2026 |
| Peer reviewed | Yes |
| Record last updated | 2026-10-01 |
| Source | DOI 10.1016/j.bbagen.2026.131009 · PMID 42785697 |
Where this study fits
How this study connects to the pathway map, open questions, people and other studies in the Atlas.
People in the Atlas
-
Postdoctoral researcher in human molecular genetics
-
Professor of human and molecular genetics
More: 3 other authors
No profile yet: de Vargas Wolfgramm Dos Santos E, Dos Reis Trabach RS, Meira DD
Related studies
- A Diet-dependent, beneficial and adverse effects of rapamycin on life span of Drosophila melanogaster
JAC2026 · 2026 · Shares: Longevity, Rapamycin, mTOR
- RT
- R What is the clinical evidence to support off-label rapamycin therapy in healthy adults?
HAN2025 · 2025 · Shares: Longevity, Rapamycin, mTOR
- H Influence of rapamycin on safety and healthspan metrics after one year: PEARL trial results
MOE2025 · 2025 · Shares: Longevity, Rapamycin, mTOR
- S Targeting ageing with rapamycin and its derivatives in humans: a systematic review
LEE2024 · 2024 · Shares: Longevity, Rapamycin, mTOR
More related studies
- A A masked, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial evaluating safety and the effect on cardiac function of low-dose rapamycin in 17 healthy client-owned dogs
BAR2023 · 2023 · Shares: Longevity, Rapamycin, mTOR
- A DNA methylation age analysis of rapamycin in common marmosets.
HOR2021 · 2021 · Shares: Longevity, Rapamycin, mTOR
- A A randomized controlled trial to establish effects of short-term rapamycin treatment in 24 middle-aged companion dogs
URF2017 · 2017 · Shares: Longevity, Rapamycin, mTOR
- A Transient rapamycin treatment can increase lifespan and healthspan in middle-aged mice
BIT2016 · 2016 · Shares: Longevity, Rapamycin, mTOR
- A Testing efficacy of administration of the antiaging drug rapamycin in a nonhuman primate, the common marmoset.
TAR2014 · 2014 · Shares: Longevity, Rapamycin, mTOR
- A Late-life rapamycin treatment reverses age-related heart dysfunction
FLY2013 · 2013 · Shares: Longevity, Rapamycin, mTOR
- R mTOR is a key modulator of ageing and age-related disease
JOH2013 · 2013 · Shares: Longevity, Rapamycin, mTOR
- A Chronic inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin by rapamycin modulates cognitive and non-cognitive components of behavior throughout lifespan in mice.
HAL2012 · 2012 · Shares: Longevity, Rapamycin, mTOR
Topics
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 | none (narrative review of rapamycin and rapalogs) |
| Target | mTOR signalling |
| Model | not applicable (review spanning preclinical and clinical literature) |
| Effect | Argues that mTOR inhibition is a unifying strategy across chronic disease and healthspan, while setting out the limitations and adverse effects of the approach. |
Thank you. Your answer was counted anonymously.