Assessing mTOR Pathway Signaling by 5-OXO-ETE and Hydroxystearic Acid

Autophagy dysfunction is associated with a large number of human diseases that include Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Autophagy is an essential cellular process for breaking down organelles and protein aggregates. To date, considerable efforts have been directed towards modulating autophagy for therapeutic benefit. However, these efforts have not yielded a single successful clinical treatment that harnesses autophagy. Consequently, we are focusing upon identifying lipid regulators of autophagy- a research area garnering little attention. We have discovered two novel modulators of autophagy through lipidomic analysis, 5-OXO-ETE and hydroxystearic acid. In order to better understand the molecular mechanism for their inhibition of autophagy, we are assessing mTOR signaling, a canonical autophagy-regulating pathway, following treatment with these two lipids. Our hope is that understanding how these lipids affect autophagic activity will lead to innovative treatments for human disease.