[Roles of Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Signaling and Autophagy Pathway in Alzheimer's Disease].

The mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR)is a serine/threonine protein kinase that regulates protein synthesis and degradation,cytoskeletal formation,and cell longevity.Autophagy,a catabolic process necessary for the maintenance of intracellular homeostasis,is essential for cell survival,whereas mTOR is the crucial regulator of autophagy.Alzheimer's disease(AD)is the most common cause of progressive dementia in the elderly.It has been shown that disorders of mTOR and autophagy signaling pathways are closely related to AD.In the present review,we describe the regulatory roles of mTOR signaling and autophagy pathway in AD brain and introduce drugs for AD acting via modulation of autophagy and mTOR.