mTOR: more targets of resveratrol?

Resveratrol (RSV) is a natural polyphenol produced by plants and is proposed to have multiple beneficial effects on health. In recent years, the interest in this molecule has increased nearly exponentially following the major findings that RSV (I) is chemo-preventive in some cancer models, (II) is cardio-protective and (III) has positive effects on metabolism in mammals and increases lifespan in lower organisms. Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a central controller of cell growth, proliferation, metabolism and angiogenesis. As a part of the mTORC1 and mTORC2 complexes, the mTOR kinase plays a key role in several pathways involved in cancer and metabolic diseases. Recent studies suggest that modulation of the mTOR signalling pathway could play an important role in mediating the beneficial effects of RSV. Therefore, this review summarises the current findings regarding RSV and its inhibition/activation of the proteins in the mTOR pathway, and thereby propose the proteins of the mTOR cascade to be primary targets for RSV. RSV affects many different targets related to mTOR, and it is not clear which is most relevant. However, most frequently, RSV is found to inhibit the activity of the mTOR pathway proteins, and to activate AMPK and LKB1, which can suppress mTOR signalling. Thus, it appears that RSV plays a role in modulation of proteins of the mTOR pathway although more research is still needed to fully understand the interaction.