Science Signaling Podcast: 3 April 2012

David M. Sabatini^1,2,3,4, Joseph A. Baur⁵, and Annalisa M. VanHook⁶

¹ Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
² Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
³ The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Seven Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
⁴ The David H. Koch Center for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
⁵ Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism and Department of Physiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
⁶ Web Editor, Science Signaling, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005, USA.

Abstract: This Podcast features a conversation with the authors of a Report published in the March 30th issue of Science Magazine. David Sabatini and Joseph Baur discuss how the drug rapamycin affects longevity and insulin sensitivity. Rapamycin is an immunosuppressant that is used to prevent transplant rejection. It can also extend the life span of many animals, but long-term rapamycin treatment impairs the sensitivity to insulin and leads to glucose intolerance. In a new collaborative study published in Science, Sabatini and Baur’s groups have dissected the mechanism of rapamycin action and found that its effects on life span and insulin sensitivity are mediated by different molecular targets. Their research also overturned the widely held belief that rapamycin only inhibits one of two related protein complexes.

The editors suggest the following Related Resources on Science sites:

In Science Signaling

EDITORIAL GUIDES
Cell Biology
Focus Issue: TOR Signaling, a Tale of Two Complexes

Nancy R. Gough (27 March 2012)
Sci. Signal. 5 (217), eg4. [DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.2003044]
 |  Abstract »  |  Full Text »  |  PDF »

In Science Magazine

PERSPECTIVES
Rapamycin Paradox Resolved

Katherine J. Hughes and Brian K. Kennedy (30 March 2012)
Science 335 (6076), 1578. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1221365]
 |  Summary »  |  Full Text »  |  PDF »

REPORTS
Rapamycin-Induced Insulin Resistance Is Mediated by mTORC2 Loss and Uncoupled from Longevity

Dudley W. Lamming, Lan Ye, Pekka Katajisto, Marcus D. Goncalves, Maki Saitoh, Deanna M. Stevens, James G. Davis, Adam B. Salmon, Arlan Richardson, Rexford S. Ahima, David A. Guertin, David M. Sabatini, and Joseph A. Baur (30 March 2012)
Science 335 (6076), 1638. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1215135]
 |  Abstract »  |  Full Text »  |  PDF »  |  Supporting Online Material »