Effect of Torin 1 on suppressing inflammation in mice with dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis

The etiology of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), such as ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), still remains unknown. It is also has great importance to develop new therapeutic strategies for the clinical treatment of IBD. In this study, we investigated the role of Torin 1, an inhibitor of mTOR, in Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced experimental colitis. We found that Torin 1 treatment significantly attenuated body weight loss and reduced the mortality induced by DSS. In addition, Torin 1 prevented DSS-induced colonic pathological damage, inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in colon tissues. In vitro, we found in mouse macrophage cell line RAW264.7, Torin 1 significantly suppressed the cytokines expression and inhibited the activation of mTOR and NF-kappa B signaling pathway. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that Torin 1 may exert anti-inflammatory effect via modulation of mTOR/NF-kappa B signaling, suggesting that Torin 1 might be a potential effective drug for inflammatory bowel diseases.