text: Decreased TOR activity has been found to increase life span in S. cerevisiae, C. elegans, and D. melanogaster. The mTOR inhibitor rapamycin has been confirmed to increase lifespan in mice.
  It is hypothesized that some dietary regimes, like caloric restriction and methionine restriction, cause lifespan extension by decreasing mTOR activity. Some studies have suggested that mTOR signaling may increase during aging, at least in specific tissues like adipose tissue, and rapamycin may act in part by blocking this increase. An alternative theory is mTOR signaling is an example of antagonistic pleiotropy, and while high mTOR signaling is good during early life, it is maintained at an inappropriately high level in old age. Calorie restriction and methionine restriction may act in part by limiting levels of essential amino acids including leucine and methionine, which are potent activators of mTOR.  The administration of leucine into the rat brain has been shown to decrease food intake and body weight via activation of the mTOR pathway in the hypothalamus.
  According to the free radical theory of aging, reactive oxygen species cause damage to mitochondrial proteins and decrease ATP production. Subsequently, via ATP sensitive AMPK, the mTOR pathway is inhibited and ATP-consuming protein synthesis is downregulated, since mTORC1 initiates a phosphorylation cascade activating the ribosome. Hence, the proportion of damaged proteins is enhanced. Moreover, disruption of mTORC1 directly inhibits mitochondrial respiration. These positive feedbacks on the aging process are counteracted by protective mechanisms: Decreased mTOR activity (among other factors) upregulates removal of dysfunctional cellular components via autophagy.
  mTOR is a key initiator of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP).  Interleukin 1 alpha (IL1A) is found on the surface of senescent cells where it contributes to the production of SASP factors due to a positive feedback loop with NF-κB. Translation of mRNA for IL1A is highly dependent upon mTOR activity. mTOR activity increases levels of IL1A, mediated by MAPKAPK2.  mTOR inhibition of ZFP36L1 prevents this protein from degrading transcripts of numerous components of SASP factors.