Rheb and Rags come together at the lysosome to activate mTORC1

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 951-955 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlous J. Groenewoud ◽  
Fried J.T. Zwartkruis

mTORC1 (mammalian target of rampamycin complex 1) is a highly conserved protein complex regulating cell growth and metabolism via its kinase mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin). The activity of mTOR is under the control of various GTPases, of which Rheb and the Rags play a central role. The presence of amino acids is a strict requirement for mTORC1 activity. The heterodimeric Rag GTPases localize mTORC1 to lysosomes by their amino-acid-dependent interaction with the lysosomal Ragulator complex. Rheb is also thought to reside on lysosomes to activate mTORC1. Rheb is responsive to growth factors, but, in conjunction with PLD1 (phospholipase D1), is also an integral part of the machinery that stimulates mTORC1 in response to amino acids. In the present article, we provide a brief overview of novel mechanisms by which amino acids affect the function of Rags. On the basis of existing literature, we postulate that Rheb is activated at the Golgi from where it will travel to lysosomes. Maturation of endosomes into lysosomes may be required to assure a continuous supply of GTP-bound Rheb for mTORC1 activation, which may help to drive the maturation process.

2009 ◽  
Vol 296 (4) ◽  
pp. E592-E602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Avruch ◽  
Xiaomeng Long ◽  
Sara Ortiz-Vega ◽  
Joseph Rapley ◽  
Angela Papageorgiou ◽  
...  

TOR complex 1 (TORC1), an oligomer of the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) protein kinase, its substrate binding subunit raptor, and the polypeptide Lst8/GβL, controls cell growth in all eukaryotes in response to nutrient availability and in metazoans to insulin and growth factors, energy status, and stress conditions. This review focuses on the biochemical mechanisms that regulate mTORC1 kinase activity, with special emphasis on mTORC1 regulation by amino acids. The dominant positive regulator of mTORC1 is the GTP-charged form of the ras-like GTPase Rheb. Insulin, growth factors, and a variety of cellular stressors regulate mTORC1 by controlling Rheb GTP charging through modulating the activity of the tuberous sclerosis complex, the Rheb GTPase activating protein. In contrast, amino acids, especially leucine, regulate mTORC1 by controlling the ability of Rheb-GTP to activate mTORC1. Rheb binds directly to mTOR, an interaction that appears to be essential for mTORC1 activation. In addition, Rheb-GTP stimulates phospholipase D1 to generate phosphatidic acid, a positive effector of mTORC1 activation, and binds to the mTOR inhibitor FKBP38, to displace it from mTOR. The contribution of Rheb's regulation of PL-D1 and FKBP38 to mTORC1 activation, relative to Rheb's direct binding to mTOR, remains to be fully defined. The rag GTPases, functioning as obligatory heterodimers, are also required for amino acid regulation of mTORC1. As with amino acid deficiency, however, the inhibitory effect of rag depletion on mTORC1 can be overcome by Rheb overexpression, whereas Rheb depletion obviates rag's ability to activate mTORC1. The rag heterodimer interacts directly with mTORC1 and may direct mTORC1 to the Rheb-containing vesicular compartment in response to amino acid sufficiency, enabling Rheb-GTP activation of mTORC1. The type III phosphatidylinositol kinase also participates in amino acid-dependent mTORC1 activation, although the site of action of its product, 3′OH-phosphatidylinositol, in this process is unclear.


2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 20753-20769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xu Zheng ◽  
Yan Liang ◽  
Qiburi He ◽  
Ruiyuan Yao ◽  
Wenlei Bao ◽  
...  

1967 ◽  
Vol 168 (1013) ◽  
pp. 421-438 ◽  

The uptake of thirteen essential amino acids by mouse LS cells in suspension culture was determined by bacteriological assay methods. Chemostat continuous-flow cultures were used to determine the effect of different cell growth rates on the quantitative amino acid requirements for growth. The growth yields of the cells ( Y = g cell dry weight produced/g amino acid utilized) were calculated for each of the essential amino acids. A mixture of the non-essential amino acids, serine, alanine and glycine increased the cell yield from the essential amino acids. The growth yields from nearly all the essential amino acids in batch culture were increased when glutamic acid was substituted for the glutamine in the medium. The growth yields from the amino acids in batch culture were much less at the beginning than at the end of the culture. The highest efficiencies of conversion of amino acids to cell material were obtained by chemostat culture. When glutamic acid largely replaced the glutamine in the medium the conversion of amino acid nitrogen to cell nitrogen was 100 % efficient (that is, the theoretical yield was obtained) at the optimum growth rate (cell doubling time, 43 h). The maximum population density a given amino acid mixture will support can be calculated from the data. It is concluded that in several routinely used tissue culture media the cell growth is limited by the amino acid supply. In batch culture glutamine was wasted by (1) its spontaneous decomposition to pyrrolidone carboxylic acid and ammonia, and (2) its enzymic breakdown to glutamic acid and ammonia, but also glutamine was used less efficiently than glutamic acid. Study of the influence of cell growth rate on amino acid uptake rates per unit mass of cells indicated that a marked change in amino acid metabolism occurred at a specific growth rate of 0.4 day -1 (cell doubling time, 43 h). With decrease in specific growth rate below 0.4 day -1 there was a marked stimulation of amino acid uptake rate per cell and essential amino acids were consumed increasingly for functions other than synthesis of cell material.


2019 ◽  
Vol 150 (5) ◽  
pp. 1022-1030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dandan Xu ◽  
Weiwei Dai ◽  
Lydia Kutzler ◽  
Holly A Lacko ◽  
Leonard S Jefferson ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Background The protein kinase target of rapamycin (mTOR) in complex 1 (mTORC1) is activated by amino acids and in turn upregulates anabolic processes. Under nutrient-deficient conditions, e.g., amino acid insufficiency, mTORC1 activity is suppressed and autophagy is activated. Intralysosomal amino acids generated by autophagy reactivate mTORC1. However, sustained mTORC1 activation during periods of nutrient insufficiency would likely be detrimental to cellular homeostasis. Thus, mechanisms must exist to prevent amino acids released by autophagy from reactivating the kinase. Objective The objective of the present study was to test whether mTORC1 activity is inhibited during prolonged leucine deprivation through ATF4-dependent upregulation of the mTORC1 suppressors regulated in development and DNA damage response 1 (REDD1) and Sestrin2. Methods Mice (8 wk old; C57Bl/6 × 129SvEV) were food deprived (FD) overnight and one-half were refed the next morning. Mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) deficient in ATF4, REDD1, and/or Sestrin2 were deprived of leucine for 0–16 h. mTORC1 activity and ATF4, REDD1, and Sestrin2 expression were assessed in liver and cell lysates. Results Refeeding FD mice resulted in activation of mTORC1 in association with suppressed expression of both REDD1 and Sestrin2 in the liver. In cells in culture, mTORC1 exhibited a triphasic response to leucine deprivation, with an initial suppression followed by a transient reactivation from 2 to 4 h and a subsequent resuppression after 8 h. Resuppression occurred concomitantly with upregulated expression of ATF4, REDD1, and Sestrin2. However, in cells lacking ATF4, neither REDD1 nor Sestrin2 expression was upregulated by leucine deprivation, and resuppression of mTORC1 was absent. Moreover, in cells lacking either REDD1 or Sestrin2, mTORC1 resuppression was attenuated, and in cells lacking both proteins resuppression was further blunted. Conclusions The results suggest that leucine deprivation upregulates expression of both REDD1 and Sestrin2 in an ATF4-dependent manner, and that upregulated expression of both proteins is involved in resuppression of mTORC1 during prolonged leucine deprivation.


2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (15) ◽  
pp. 5575-5584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Peng ◽  
Todd R. Golub ◽  
David M. Sabatini

ABSTRACT RAFT1/FRAP/mTOR is a key regulator of cell growth and division and the mammalian target of rapamycin, an immunosuppressive and anticancer drug. Rapamycin deprivation and nutrient deprivation have similar effects on the activity of S6 kinase 1 (S6K1) and 4E-BP1, two downstream effectors of RAFT1, but the relationship between nutrient- and rapamycin-sensitive pathways is unknown. Using transcriptional profiling, we show that, in human BJAB B-lymphoma cells and murine CTLL-2 T lymphocytes, rapamycin treatment affects the expression of many genes involved in nutrient and protein metabolism. The rapamycin-induced transcriptional profile is distinct from those induced by glucose, glutamine, or leucine deprivation but is most similar to that induced by amino acid deprivation. In particular, rapamycin treatment and amino acid deprivation up-regulate genes involved in nutrient catabolism and energy production and down-regulate genes participating in lipid and nucleotide synthesis and in protein synthesis, turnover, and folding. Surprisingly, however, rapamycin had effects opposite from those of amino acid starvation on the expression of a large group of genes involved in the synthesis, transport, and use of amino acids. Supported by measurements of nutrient use, the data suggest that RAFT1 is an energy and nutrient sensor and that rapamycin mimics a signal generated by the starvation of amino acids but that the signal is unlikely to be the absence of amino acids themselves. These observations underscore the importance of metabolism in controlling lymphocyte proliferation and offer a novel explanation for immunosuppression by rapamycin.


2007 ◽  
Vol 403 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon J. Cook ◽  
Simon J. Morley

The control of cell growth, that is cell size, is largely controlled by mTOR (the mammalian target of rapamycin), a large serine/threonine protein kinase that regulates ribosome biogenesis and protein translation. mTOR activity is regulated both by the availability of growth factors, such as insulin/IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1), and by nutrients, notably the supply of certain key amino acids. The last few years have seen a remarkable increase in our understanding of the canonical, growth factor-regulated pathway for mTOR activation, which is mediated by the class I PI3Ks (phosphoinositide 3-kinases), PKB (protein kinase B), TSC1/2 (the tuberous sclerosis complex) and the small GTPase, Rheb. However, the nutrient-responsive input into mTOR is important in its own right and is also required for maximal activation of mTOR signalling by growth factors. Despite this, the details of the nutrient-responsive signalling pathway(s) controlling mTOR have remained elusive, although recent studies have suggested a role for the class III PI3K hVps34. In this issue of the Biochemical Journal, Findlay et al. demonstrate that the protein kinase MAP4K3 [mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase kinase-3, a Ste20 family protein kinase also known as GLK (germinal centre-like kinase)] is a new component of the nutrient-responsive pathway. MAP4K3 activity is stimulated by administration of amino acids, but not growth factors, and this is insensitive to rapamycin, most likely placing MAP4K3 upstream of mTOR. Indeed, MAP4K3 is required for phosphorylation of known mTOR targets such as S6K1 (S6 kinase 1), and overexpression of MAP4K3 promotes the rapamycin-sensitive phosphorylation of these same targets. Finally, knockdown of MAP4K3 levels causes a decrease in cell size. The results suggest that MAP4K3 is a new component in the nutrient-responsive pathway for mTOR activation and reveal a completely new function for MAP4K3 in promoting cell growth. Given that mTOR activity is frequently deregulated in cancer, there is much interest in new strategies for inhibition of this pathway. In this context, MAP4K3 looks like an attractive drug target since inhibitors of this enzyme should switch off mTOR, thereby inhibiting cell growth and proliferation, and promoting apoptosis.


2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 1187-1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.G. Proud

Amino acids regulate signalling through the mTORC1 (mammalian target of rapamycin, complex 1) and thereby control a number of components of the translational machinery, including initiation and elongation factors. mTORC1 also positively regulates other anabolic processes, in particular ribosome biogenesis. The most effective single amino acid is leucine. A key issue is how intracellular amino acids regulate mTORC1. This does not require the TSC1/2 (tuberous sclerosis complex 1/2) complex, which is involved in the activation of mTORC1, for example, by insulin. Progress in understanding the mechanisms responsible for this will be reviewed.


2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 289-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasemin Sancak ◽  
David M. Sabatini

The serum- and nutrient-sensitive protein kinase mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) is a master regulator of cell growth and survival. The mechanisms through which nutrients regulate mTOR have been one of the major unanswered questions in the mTOR field. Identification of the Rag (Ras-related GTPase) family of GTPases as mediators of amino acid signalling to mTOR is an important step towards our understanding of this mechanism.


2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 939-943 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine A. Dunlop ◽  
Andrew R. Tee

In order for cells to divide in a proficient manner, they must first double their biomass, which is considered to be the main rate-limiting phase of cell proliferation. Cell growth requires an abundance of energy and biosynthetic precursors such as lipids and amino acids. Consequently, the energy and nutrient status of the cell is acutely monitored and carefully maintained. mTORC1 [mammalian (or mechanistic) target of rapamycin complex 1] is often considered to be the master regulator of cell growth that enhances cellular biomass through up-regulation of protein translation. In order for cells to control cellular homoeostasis during growth, there is close signalling interplay between mTORC1 and two other protein kinases, AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) and ULK1 (Unc-51-like kinase 1). This kinase triad collectively senses the energy and nutrient status of the cell and appropriately dictates whether the cell will actively favour energy- and amino-acid-consuming anabolic processes such as cellular growth, or energy- and amino-acid-generating catabolic processes such as autophagy. The present review discusses important feedback mechanisms between these three homoeostatic protein kinases that orchestrate cell growth and autophagy, with a particular focus on the mTORC1 component raptor (regulatory associated protein of mammalian target of rapamycin), as well as the autophagy-initiating kinase ULK1.


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