Rheb promotes cell growth as a component of the insulin/TOR signalling network

Saucedo LJ, Gao X, Chiarelli DA, Li L, Pan D, Edgar BA · 2003 · Nature cell biology · Atlas ID SAU2003

What this study shows

Rheb promotes cell growth as a component of the insulin/TOR network in Drosophila.

Abstract

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Insulin signalling is a potent stimulator of cell growth and has been proposed to function, at least in part, through the conserved protein kinase TOR (target of rapamycin). Recent studies suggest that the tuberous sclerosis complex Tsc1-Tsc2 may couple insulin signalling to Tor activity. However, the regulatory mechanism involved remains unclear, and additional components are most probably involved. In a screen for novel regulators of growth, we identified Rheb (Ras homologue enriched in brain), a member of the Ras superfamily of GTP-binding proteins.

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: 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	Drosophila
Journal	Nature cell biology
Year	2003
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-10-01
Source	DOI 10.1038/ncb996 · PMID 12766776

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 screen)
Target	Rheb / TOR
Model	Drosophila
Effect	Rheb promotes cell growth as a component of the insulin/TOR signalling network

In the Atlas

Links in the pathway map

Supports Rheb activates mTORC1
Supports Insulin activates PI3K

Learn the biology

Want to understand the biology behind this study? → Rheb — The Critical Regulator

Cite this paper

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Saucedo, L. J., Gao, X., Chiarelli, D. A., Li, L., Pan, D., & Edgar, B. A. (2003). Rheb promotes cell growth as a component of the insulin/TOR signalling network. Nature cell biology. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb996

@article{SAU2003,
  author       = {Saucedo, L. J. and Gao, X. and Chiarelli, D. A. and Li, L. and Pan, D. and Edgar, B. A.},
  title        = {{Rheb promotes cell growth as a component of the insulin/TOR signalling network}},
  journal      = {Nature cell biology},
  year         = {2003},
  doi          = {10.1038/ncb996},
  note         = {PMID: 12766776},
}

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 SAU2003) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/SAU2003/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_SAU2003,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record SAU2003},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/SAU2003/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}

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