Abstract:Abstract:objective: To explore the role of mTOR signaling pathway in CD4+ Tregs glucose metabolism in ovarian cancer patients. Methods: Flow cytometry was used to detect the percentage of mTOR+ CD4+ Tregs cells in peripheral blood with ovarian cancer (OC) patients, benign ovarian tumor (BOT)patients and healthy controls (HC). We established a coculture system of human CD4+ Tregs cells with ovarian cancer cell SKOV3, and detect the percentage of mTOR+ CD4+ Tregs before and after co-culture. After mTOR signal was inhibited by rapamycin, the glucose uptake and glycolysis levels of CD4+ Tregs cells were detected by colorimetry, and the expression levels of genes and proteins related to glucose metabolism in CD4+ Tregs cells were detected by real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot. Results: The percentage of mTOR+CD4+ Tregs in peripheral blood of ovarian cancer patients was significantly higher than that of healthy controls (77.4±8.12% vs.64.19±9.7%, P<0.01). After co-culture with SKOV3, the percentage of mTOR+ CD4+ Tregs cells were elevated (P<0.05), and the levels of mTOR signaling pathway related genes and proteins also increased. After inhibition of mTOR signal of CD4+ Tregs in SKOV3 growth environment, the glucose uptake (193.49±13.28 vs. 174.05±14.58, P < 0.01) and glycolysis level (21.97±0.87 vs. 4.85±1.54, P < 0.001) were decreased significantly. Glucose metabolism-related genes and proteins were also significantly reduced; Conclusions: mTOR and its downstream signaling pathway are significantly activated in peripheral blood CD4+ Tregs of ovarian cancer patients, and mTOR signaling pathway can affect glucose metabolism of CD4+ Tregs by regulating glucose metabolist-related genes and protein levels.