Aberrant activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a common molecular event in a variety of pathological settings, including genetic tumor syndromes, cancer, and obesity. However, the cell intrinsic consequences of mTORC1 activation remain poorly defined. Through a combination of unbiased genomic, metabolomic, and bioinformatic approaches, we demonstrate that mTORC1 activation is sufficient to stimulate specific metabolic pathways, including glycolysis, the oxidative arm of the pentose phosphate pathway, and de novo lipid biosynthesis. This is achieved through the activation of a transcriptional program affecting metabolic gene targets of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF1α) and sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP1 and SREBP2). We find that SREBP1 and 2 promote proliferation downstream of mTORC1, and the activation of these transcription factors is mediated by S6K1. Therefore, in addition to promoting protein synthesis, mTORC1 activates specific bioenergetic and anabolic cellular processes that are likely to contribute to human physiology and disease.

SUMMARY Amino acids are required for activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinase which regulates protein translation, cell growth, and autophagy. Cell surface transporters that allow amino acids to enter the cell and signal to mTOR are unknown. We show that cellular uptake of L-glutamine and its subsequent rapid efflux in the presence of essential amino acids (EAA) is the rate-limiting step that activates mTOR. L-glutamine uptake is regulated by SLC1A5 and loss of SLC1A5 function inhibits cell growth and activates autophagy. The molecular basis for L-glutamine sensitivity is due to SLC7A5/SLC3A2, a bidirectional transporter that regulates the simultaneous efflux of L-glutamine out of cells and transport of L-leucine/EAA into cells. Certain tumor cell lines with high basal cellular levels of L-glutamine bypass the need for L-glutamine uptake and are primed for mTOR activation. Thus, L-glutamine flux regulates mTOR, translation and autophagy to coordinate cell growth and proliferation.

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The mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a multiprotein signaling complex regulated by oncogenes and tumor suppressors. Outputs downstream of mTORC1 include ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (S6K1), eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), and autophagy, and their modulation leads to changes in cell growth, proliferation, and metabolism. Rapamycin, an allosteric mTORC1 inhibitor, does not antagonize equally these outputs, but the reason for this is unknown. Here, we show that the ability of rapamycin to activate autophagy in different cell lines correlates with mTORC1 stability. Rapamycin exposure destabilizes mTORC1, but in cell lines where autophagy is drug insensitive, higher levels of mTOR-bound raptor are detected than in cells where rapamycin stimulates autophagy. Using small interfering RNA (siRNA), we find that knockdown of raptor relieves autophagy and the eIF4E effector pathway from rapamycin resistance. Importantly, nonefficacious concentrations of an ATP-competitive mTOR inhibitor can be combined with rapamycin to synergistically inhibit mTORC1 and activate autophagy but leave mTORC2 signaling intact. These data suggest that partial inhibition of mTORC1 by rapamycin can be overcome using combination strategies and offer a therapeutic avenue to achieve complete and selective inhibition of mTORC1.Mammalian cells have evolved complex signaling networks to regulate and balance anabolic and catabolic processes. A central node in these networks is the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a kinase which senses the availability of nutrients and energy and integrates inputs from growth factors and stress signaling (11,26,46). mTOR is found in two multiprotein complexes, termed mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2). The two complexes contain common members such as mTOR, GßL, and deptor as well as mTORC1-and mTORC2-specific components such as raptor and rictor, respectively. The function of mTORC2 involves the regulation of cell survival via phosphorylation of Akt (38) and the modulation of actin cytoskeleton dynamics (19). mTORC1, on the other hand, promotes protein synthesis and cell growth by phosphorylating p70 ribosomal S6 kinase 1 (S6K1) and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein-1 (4EBP1) (27). mTORC1 also suppresses the initiation of autophagy presumably through phosphorylation of the Ulk1-mAtg13-FIP200 complex (12,18,20). Autophagy represents a major cellular degradation process that sequesters bulk cytosol into autophagosomes, which then fuse with lysosomes, where acidic hydrolases break down the lumenal content, recycle macromolecules, and provide the cytosol with free fatty acids and amino acids (47). In addition to bulk cytosol, low levels of basal autophagy clear damaged organelles and protein aggregates, thereby maintaining cellular homeostasis. Furthermore, autophagy can be induced by starvation or cytotoxic events to enhance cell survival when growth conditions are unfavorable. Pharmacological activation of autophagy represents an attractive strate...

Autophagy is a vesicular trafficking pathway that regulates the degradation of aggregated proteins and damaged organelles. Initiation of autophagy requires several multiprotein signaling complexes, such as the ULK1 kinase complex and the Vps34 lipid kinase complex, which generates phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate [PtdIns(3)P] on the forming autophagosomal membrane. Alterations in autophagy have been reported for various diseases, including myopathies. Here we show that skeletal muscle autophagy is compromised in mice deficient in the X-linked myotubular myopathy (XLMTM)-associated PtdIns(3)P phosphatase myotubularin (MTM1). Mtm1-deficient muscle displays several cellular abnormalities, including a profound increase in ubiquitin aggregates and abnormal mitochondria. Further, we show that Mtm1 deficiency is accompanied by activation of mTORC1 signaling, which persists even following starvation. In vivo pharmacological inhibition of mTOR is sufficient to normalize aberrant autophagy and improve muscle phenotypes in Mtm1 null mice. These results suggest that aberrant mTORC1 signaling and impaired autophagy are consequences of the loss of Mtm1 and may play a primary role in disease pathogenesis.T he autophagy-lysosomal pathway regulates the degradation of bulk cytosol, protein aggregates, and mitochondria. Nutrient limitation represents one of the major ways in which autophagy is activated, and in this context, the recycling of cellular components provides the cell with a source of ATP and amino acids to maintain normal homeostatic processes (1). Tissue-specific deletion of essential autophagy genes (ATG) such as Atg5 or Atg7 has revealed that autophagy plays a cytoprotective role by degrading potentially toxic aggregated proteins and damaged organelles (2-9). The regulation of autophagy is complex but can be categorized into three major phases: initiation, maturation and, degradation (10). The ULK1-Atg13-FIP200 complex plays an essential role in certain nucleating events during initiation (11). This complex is regulated by mTOR (12-14), which itself assembles into two multiprotein complexes termed mTORC1 and mTORC2 (15). The two complexes can be distinguished on the basis of unique components, namely, Raptor and Rictor, which associate with mTORC1 and mTORC2, respectively (16-18). mTORC1 suppresses autophagy and in parallel promotes cell growth via the activation of eIF4E and ribosomal S6 protein kinase (S6K) (15). Inhibition of mTORC1 by nutrient deprivation or pharmacological inhibitors such as rapamycin results in the activation of ULK1 and autophagy (11). In addition to ULK1, the class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase Vps34 is required for the formation of autophagosomes during pathway initiation. It is believed that following activation of the ULK1 complex, ATG14L recruits Vps34 to the surface of the endoplasmic reticulum, where it catalyzes the production of phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate [PtdIns(3)P] (19-21). The exact role of PtdIns(3)P in autophagy is unclear, but studies suggest that PtdIns(3)P recruits...