The present study reveals that leptin-induced human 1321N1 astrocytoma cells growth and mobility requires the activation of key intracellular signal transduction elements from the major signalling cascades: MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt/mTOR/P70S6K pathways, but not PKC activation as required by other proliferative molecules, such as EGF or sPLA2-IIA itself [24] Our data also suggest that both cascades converge to regulate pro-tumoral events, since inhibition of any of those pathways significantly diminishes leptin effects. This evidence concerns the gene MTOR and astrocytoma (excluding glioblastoma).