Leucine is central to activating mTOR, which plays key roles in skeletal muscle growth and recovery, but also has a controversial connection to atherosclerosis.

“So for those not familiar, this is part of the mTOR signaling pathway. So one of the-- two of the targets of mTOR, when it's stimulated-- and leucine stimulates mTOR. Two of the targets of mTOR are a protein compound called 4E-BP1. And then another one is called a ribosomal protein S6K.”

“let's Circle back to the amino acid Lucine whether we're talking about optimizing muscle protein synthesis or controversies in the Aging field surrounding igf-1 and mtor Lucine is at the heart of it Lucine is the critical signal driving robust activation of mtor mtor plays key roles in skeletal muscle growth by driving muscle protein synthesis and recovery but this brings us to another area where mtor pathway has also sparked controversy it's potential connection to atherosclerosis”

“a study from early 2024 suggested that a high protein intake could accelerate the development of atherosclerosis which is the hardening and stiffening of arteries the study suggested that Lucine which activates mtor and muscle tissue to drive muscle growth might also activate mtor in the vascular system promoting plaque buildup through immune Cell Activation”