MTOR and neoplasm: In another study performed on MDA-T32 papillary thyroid carcinoma cells and a mouse tumor xenograft model, parthenolide, a bioactive sesquiterpene lactone, induced cell apoptosis via the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, increased the expression of autophagocytic proteins, LC3-II and beclin-1, and inhibited the growth of the mouse xenograft tumors [218].