Effects of Torin 2 on adult brain transcriptome profiles of annual killifish Nothobranchius guentheri

The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is involved in various basic cellular processes such as protein synthesis, energy metabolism, cell growth, autophagy and lipid metabolism. In addition, mTOR-controlled signaling pathways regulate a number of physiological functions of the nervous system including neuronal development, synaptic plasticity, memory and cognition. Thus it is not surprising that dysregulation of mTOR signaling is associated with the development and progression of many neurological and psychiatric disorders.Torin 2 is a novel, highly selective, second generation ATP-competitive inhibitor of mTOR. To test the effect of long-term food supplement with Torin 2 on brain tissues we used a novel animal model, Nothobranchius guentheri - African annual killifish that over recent years has been established as a valuable model organism including for studying of neurological disorders. In the present work, we evaluated the effect of chronic food supplement by Torin 2 on the gene expression in brain tissues of adult N. guntheri species. For this purpose, we performed Illumina sequencing of twenty one cDNA libraries.According to our results the changes in expression profiles caused by Torin 2 are more pronounced in females than in males. A total of 1491 genes (p < 0.05, FDR < 0.05) showed differential expression in females in response to a diet with Torin 2 while only 279 differentially expressed genes(DEGs) were detected in males. DEGs the most affected by Torin 2 which predominantly play a role in the cellular process such as regulation of nitrogen compounds, dendritic spine maintenance, heterocycle and protein metabolism have been identified.