The role of MTOR in reprogramming of tumor associated macrophages and in cancerogenesis (review)

Macrophages are heterogeneous population of cells, which differentiate into distinct functional groups depending of the external signals. Agonists of toll-like receptors (TLRs) and cytokines bind to corresponding receptors and cause changes in the metabolism and expression of genes in myeloid cells located in the innate immune system. These changes in phagocytes are occurring during their activation. As a result, they become polarized, acquiring a determined phenotype. This gene expression changes realize in the tumor microenvironment. mTOR - serine/threonine protein kinase, which receives various signals from cell environment. It causes changes in protein biosynthesis and cell metabolism. mTOR takes part in the activation of macrophages influenced by cytokines or agonists of TLRs. It determines the role of kinase in reprogramming mechanisms and in the regulation of cytokines production according to the type of received signals respectively. The review has been made about the role of mTOR in macrophages' reprogramming, in particular tumor-associated ones. The PubMed resource is used for information search