ABSTRACT
The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling is an evolutionally conserved pathway that impacts many major cellular processes. This pathway integrates environmental cues and metabolic inputs to regulate cell growth and metabolism, and its dysregulation is associated with development of many pathological diseases. Most studies of mTOR signaling have been done in somatic cells, but much progress has also been made on the mTOR signaling pathway in germ cell development in the past few years. Here, we review recent advances revealing the role of mTOR in Sertoli cell functions, fate decisions of spermatogonial stem cel,l and meiosis. We further discuss future directions for molecular functions of mTOR during spermatogenesis.
