Both life expectancy and the incidence of non-communicable diseases are increasing throughout the globe that necessitates new strategies to treat aging-related disorders.
The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), a 289-kDa serine/threonine protein, and its related pathways of mTOR Complex 1 (mTORC1), mTOR Complex 2 (mTORC2), proline rich Akt substrate 40 kDa (PRAS40), AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK), Wnt signaling, and silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog 1 (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) (SIRT1), offer exciting prospects for the design of therapies for multiple disorders.
Closely coupled to the ability of mTOR signaling to govern cell survival is the oversight of the programmed death pathways of apoptosis and autophagy.
A fine control of mTOR is necessary over apoptotic and autophagic pathways to achieve desired biological and clinical outcomes.
Erythropoietin (EPO) offers an exciting prospect to couple with the benefits of mTOR signaling, since EPO relies upon mTOR pathways and can implement control over apoptosis and autophagy to foster potential treatment for multiple disease entities.
Although EPO is gaining clinical acceptance in cell and animal studies as well as clinical studies for the developing brain, applications of EPO for mature and aging adults require further clarification that can benefit from continued elucidation the regulatory elements that control EPO and mTOR signaling.
|