RICTOR/mTORC2 of 1708 aas.  Rictor is a subunit of mTORC2, which regulates cell growth and survival in response to hormonal signals. mTORC2 is activated by growth factors, but, in contrast to mTORC1, it seems to be nutrient-insensitive. mTORC2 seems to function upstream of Rho GTPases to regulate the actin cytoskeleton, probably by activating one or more Rho-type guanine nucleotide exchange factors (Sarbassov et al. 2004). mTORC2 promotes the serum-induced formation of stress-fibers or F-actin (Jacinto et al. 2004). mTORC2 plays a critical role in AKT1 'Ser-473' phosphorylation, which may facilitate the phosphorylation of the activation loop of AKT1 on 'Thr-308' by PDK1 which is a prerequisite for full activation (Sarbassov et al. 2005). mTORC2 regulates the phosphorylation of SGK1 at 'Ser-422' and also modulates the phosphorylation of PRKCA on 'Ser-657'. It plays an essential role in embryonic growth and development.