Mammalian target of rapamycin is essential for cardiomyocyte survival and heart development in mice.

ABSTRACT: Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a critical regulator of protein synthesis, cell proliferation and energy metabolism. As constitutive knockout of Mtor leads to embryonic lethality, the in vivo function of mTOR in perinatal development and postnatal growth of heart is not well defined. In this study, we established a muscle-specific mTOR conditional knockout mouse model (mTOR-mKO) by crossing MCK-Cre and Mtor(flox/flox) mice. Although the mTOR-mKO mice survived embryonic and perinatal development, they exhibited severe postnatal growth retardation, cardiac muscle pathology and premature death. At the cellular level, the cardiac muscle of mTOR-mKO mice had fewer cardiomyocytes due to apoptosis and necrosis, leading to dilated cardiomyopathy. At the molecular level, the cardiac muscle

SUBMITTER: Zhang P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4382310 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature