Phosphorylation and regulation of Akt/PKB by the rictor-mTOR complex

Sarbassov DD, Guertin DA, Ali SM, Sabatini DM · 2005 · Science · Atlas ID SAR2005

What this study shows

The rictor-mTOR complex (mTORC2) directly phosphorylates Akt/PKB on Ser473, regulating cell survival.

Abstract

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Deregulation of Akt/protein kinase B (PKB) is implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer and diabetes. Akt/PKB activation requires the phosphorylation of Thr308 in the activation loop by the phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1) and Ser473 within the carboxyl-terminal hydrophobic motif by an unknown kinase. We show that in Drosophila and human cells the target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase and its associated protein rictor are necessary for Ser473 phosphorylation and that a reduction in rictor or mammalian TOR (mTOR) expression inhibited an Akt/PKB effector.

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	Science
Year	2005
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-10-01
Source	DOI 10.1126/science.1106148 · PMID 15718470

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/biochemical (rictor-mTOR)
Target	mTORC2 (rictor) / Akt Ser473
Model	Human cells; Drosophila
Effect	The rictor-mTOR complex (mTORC2) phosphorylates Akt/PKB at Ser473

In the Atlas

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Cite this paper

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Sarbassov, D. D., Guertin, D. A., Ali, S. M., & Sabatini, D. M. (2005). Phosphorylation and regulation of Akt/PKB by the rictor-mTOR complex. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1106148

@article{SAR2005,
  author       = {Sarbassov, D. D. and Guertin, D. A. and Ali, S. M. and Sabatini, D. M.},
  title        = {{Phosphorylation and regulation of Akt/PKB by the rictor-mTOR complex}},
  journal      = {Science},
  year         = {2005},
  doi          = {10.1126/science.1106148},
  note         = {PMID: 15718470},
}

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 SAR2005) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/SAR2005/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_SAR2005,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record SAR2005},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/SAR2005/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}

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