| Name | cytosolic arginine sensor for mTORC1 subunit 2 |
| Description | Enables identical protein binding activity. Involved in negative regulation of TORC1 signaling. Located in GATOR2 complex and cytosol. [provided by Alliance of Genome Resources, Mar 2025] |
| Summary |
{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n CASTOR2 is a cytosolic protein that participates in amino acid sensing by helping to regulate mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) activity in response to arginine levels. It is closely related to CASTOR1 – with which it can form heterodimers – and together these proteins mediate mTORC1 inhibition under arginine‐deprived conditions by interacting with the GATOR2 complex."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In this nutrient‐sensing role, CASTOR2 contributes to maintaining metabolic homeostasis by ensuring that sufficient intracellular arginine is available before mTORC1 is activated. In circumstances where arginine is limited, the unbound sensor (comprising CASTOR1 and CASTOR2) inhibits mTORC1, thus curbing anabolic processes and cell growth."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Furthermore, studies associating genetic variation near CASTOR2 with breast cancer risk suggest that alterations in CASTOR2 function—and by extension mTORC1 regulation—may contribute to oncogenic processes, underscoring its potential impact on tumor biology."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Lynne Chantranupong, Sonia M Scaria, Robert A Saxton, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The CASTOR Proteins Are Arginine Sensors for the mTORC1 Pathway."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell (2016)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.cell.2016.02.035"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.02.035"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "26972053"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26972053"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Tingting Li, Enguo Ju, Shou-Jiang Gao "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus miRNAs suppress CASTOR1-mediated mTORC1 inhibition to promote tumorigenesis."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Clin Invest (2019)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1172/JCI127166"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI127166"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "31305263"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31305263"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nirvay Sah, Guoyao Wu, Fuller W Bazer "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Regulation of Gene Expression by Amino Acids in Animal Cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Adv Exp Med Biol (2021)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1007/978-3-030-74180-8_1"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74180-8_1"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "34251635"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34251635"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Babatunde Adedokun, Zhaohui Du, Guimin Gao, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analysis identifies six breast cancer loci in African and European ancestry women."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nat Commun (2021)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/s41467-021-24327-x"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24327-x"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "34234117"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34234117"}]}]}]}
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| NCBI Gene ID | 729438 |
| API | |
| Download Associations | |
| Predicted Functions |
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| Co-expressed Genes |
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| Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines |
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CASTOR2 has 1,720 functional associations with biological entities spanning 6 categories (functional term, phrase or reference, chemical, disease, phenotype or trait, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA, sequence feature) extracted from 29 datasets.
Click the + buttons to view associations for CASTOR2 from the datasets below.
If available, associations are ranked by standardized value
| Dataset | Summary | |
|---|---|---|
| Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles | tissue samples with high or low expression of CASTOR2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset. | |
| CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations | cell types associated with CASTOR2 gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset. | |
| ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 | transcription factors binding the promoter of CASTOR2 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset. | |
| CM4AI KOLF21J CRISPRi Gene Perturbation Atlas | gene perturbations changing expression of CASTOR2 gene from the CM4AI KOLF21J CRISPRi Gene Perturbation Atlas dataset. | |
| COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 | cellular components containing CASTOR2 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset. | |
| COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 | cellular components co-occuring with CASTOR2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset. | |
| DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action | small molecule perturbations with high or low expression of CASTOR2 protein relative to other small molecule perturbations from the DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action dataset. | |
| DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency | cell lines with fitness changed by CASTOR2 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset. | |
| DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025 | diseases co-occuring with CASTOR2 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset. | |
| GO Biological Process Annotations 2023 | biological processes involving CASTOR2 gene from the curated GO Biological Process Annotations 2023 dataset. | |
| GO Biological Process Annotations 2025 | biological processes involving CASTOR2 gene from the curated GO Biological Process Annotations2025 dataset. | |
| GO Molecular Function Annotations 2023 | molecular functions performed by CASTOR2 gene from the curated GO Molecular Function Annotations 2023 dataset. | |
| GTEx eQTL 2025 | SNPs regulating expression of CASTOR2 gene from the GTEx eQTL 2025 dataset. | |
| GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles 2023 | tissues with high or low expression of CASTOR2 gene relative to other tissues from the GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles 2023 dataset. | |
| GWAS Catalog SNP-Phenotype Associations 2025 | phenotypes associated with CASTOR2 gene in GWAS datasets from the GWAS Catalog SNP-Phenotype Associations 2025 dataset. | |
| JASPAR Predicted Human Transcription Factor Targets 2025 | transcription factors regulating expression of CASTOR2 gene predicted using known transcription factor binding site motifs from the JASPAR Predicted Human Transcription Factor Targets dataset. | |
| JASPAR Predicted Mouse Transcription Factor Targets 2025 | transcription factors regulating expression of CASTOR2 gene predicted using known transcription factor binding site motifs from the JASPAR Predicted Mouse Transcription Factor Targets 2025 dataset. | |
| KEGG Pathways 2026 | pathways involving CASTOR2 protein from the KEGG Pathways 2026 dataset. | |
| NIBR DRUG-seq U2OS MoA Box Gene Expression Profiles | drug perturbations changing expression of CASTOR2 gene from the NIBR DRUG-seq U2OS MoA Box dataset. | |
| PFOCR Pathway Figure Associations 2023 | pathways involving CASTOR2 protein from the PFOCR Pathway Figure Associations 2023 dataset. | |
| PFOCR Pathway Figure Associations 2024 | pathways involving CASTOR2 protein from the Wikipathways PFOCR 2024 dataset. | |
| Reactome Pathways 2024 | pathways involving CASTOR2 protein from the Reactome Pathways 2024 dataset. | |
| Rummagene Transcription Factor Associations 2026 | transcription factors regulating expression of CASTOR2 gene from the Rummagene Transcription Factor Associations 2026 dataset. | |
| RummaGEO Drug Perturbation Signatures | drug perturbations changing expression of CASTOR2 gene from the RummaGEO Drug Perturbation Signatures dataset. | |
| RummaGEO Gene Perturbation Signatures | gene perturbations changing expression of CASTOR2 gene from the RummaGEO Gene Perturbation Signatures dataset. | |
| Sci-Plex Drug Perturbation Signatures | drug perturbations changing expression of CASTOR2 gene from the Sci-Plex Drug Perturbation Signatures dataset. | |
| Tahoe Therapeutics Tahoe 100M Perturbation Atlas | drug perturbations changing expression of CASTOR2 gene from the Tahoe Therapeutics Tahoe 100M Perturbation Atlas dataset. | |
| TISSUES Experimental Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 | tissues with high expression of CASTOR2 protein in proteomics datasets from the TISSUES Experimental Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 dataset. | |
| TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 | tissues co-occuring with CASTOR2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 dataset. | |
