Akt kinase is considered to be a pro-survival protein that inhibits apoptosis through the control of multiple effectors including mTORC1, GSK-3 and others [28]. An important question is whether these same molecules reverse their pro-survival roles during necroptosis. We found that inhibition of mTORC1 by rapamycin, an inhibitor of the mTOR co-factor Raptor [29], protected cells from necroptosis (Fig. 5C). Similarly, the direct mTOR kinase inhibitor Torin1 [30] and the dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor PI-103 [31] also efficiently inhibited necroptosis (Fig. 5C). Knockdown of mTOR using siRNA further validated the small-molecule inhibitor data indicating a role for mTOR in necroptosis by protecting cells from both zVAD.fmk and TNFα induced death (Fig. 5D).