Rictor, a novel binding partner of mTOR, defines a rapamycin-insensitive and raptor-independent pathway that regulates the cytoskeleton

Sarbassov DD, Ali SM, Kim DH, Guertin DA, Latek RR, Erdjument-Bromage H, Tempst P, Sabatini DM · 2004 · Current Biology · Atlas ID SAR2004

What this study shows

Discovery of Rictor and the SECOND mTOR complex, mTORC2. Crucially showed this complex is NOT blocked by rapamycin and does not use Raptor - it controls the cytoskeleton via PKC. This is the paper that split mTOR biology into 'two faces' at the molecular level.

Abstract

ShowHide

The mammalian TOR (mTOR) pathway integrates nutrient- and growth factor-derived signals to regulate growth, the process whereby cells accumulate mass and increase in size. mTOR is a large protein kinase and the target of rapamycin, an immunosuppressant that also blocks vessel restenosis and has potential anticancer applications. mTOR interacts with the raptor and GbetaL proteins to form a complex that is the target of rapamycin. Here, we demonstrate that mTOR is also part of a distinct complex defined by the novel protein rictor (rapamycin-insensitive companion of mTOR).

Read the full abstract on PubMed →

At a glance

Evidence type	M Molecular — cells, biochemistry, structure Marked M because it is molecular or in-vitro work (model: Human cells + Drosophila) 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 + Drosophila
Journal	Current Biology
Year	2004
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-10-01
Source	DOI 10.1016/j.cub.2004.06.054 · PMID 15268862

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	Biochemical/genetic (rictor)
Target	mTORC2 (rictor) / actin cytoskeleton
Model	Human cells + Drosophila
Effect	Defines rictor-mTOR (mTORC2) as a rapamycin-insensitive, raptor-independent pathway regulating the cytoskeleton

In the Atlas

Links in the pathway map

Supports mTORC2 activates Actin cytoskeleton
Supports Rictor required-for mTORC2

Learn the biology

Want to understand the biology behind this study? → What is mTOR?

Cite this paper

ShowHide

Sarbassov, D. D., Ali, S. M., Kim, D. H., Guertin, D. A., Latek, R. R., Erdjument-Bromage, H., Tempst, P., & Sabatini, D. M. (2004). Rictor, a novel binding partner of mTOR, defines a rapamycin-insensitive and raptor-independent pathway that regulates the cytoskeleton. Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2004.06.054

@article{SAR2004,
  author       = {Sarbassov, D. D. and Ali, S. M. and Kim, D. H. and Guertin, D. A. and Latek, R. R. and Erdjument-Bromage, H. and Tempst, P. and Sabatini, D. M.},
  title        = {{Rictor, a novel binding partner of mTOR, defines a rapamycin-insensitive and raptor-independent pathway that regulates the cytoskeleton}},
  journal      = {Current Biology},
  year         = {2004},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.cub.2004.06.054},
  note         = {PMID: 15268862},
}

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 SAR2004) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/SAR2004/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_SAR2004,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record SAR2004},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/SAR2004/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}

Was this page useful?