Dysregulation of mTORC2 in gliomas

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Gliomas are the most common primary malignancy of the central nervous system and are typically rapidly proliferating tumors resistant to chemotherapeutic intervention. Their complex and heterogeneous nature has hampered progress towards the development of successful therapies. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinase has emerged as an attractive target for therapeutic intervention in gliomas. Two multisubunit complexes containing mTOR exist, mTORC1 and mTORC2 which differ in their regulatory subunit compositions containing Raptor and Rictor, respectively. While hyperactive mTORC1 activity has been targeted in many cancers, including glioma with limited success, dysregulated mTORC2 function has only recently begun to be investigated. In this application we propose to 1). dissect the mechanism(s) of Rictor overexpression in gliomas, 2). clarify a recently identified genetic modifier of Rictor-mediated gliomagenesis potentially linking the mTORC2 and Hippo tumor suppressor signaling pathways and 3.) evaluate a novel mTORC2 specific small molecule inhibitor in genetically engineered mouse (GEM) models of the disease. We also propose to investigate and chemically modify the inhibitor to build in additional activitie against both the mTORC2 kinase and drug resistant gliomas.