2. Academic Validation
  3. The folliculin tumor suppressor is a GAP for the RagC/D GTPases that signal amino acid levels to mTORC1

The folliculin tumor suppressor is a GAP for the RagC/D GTPases that signal amino acid levels to mTORC1

  • Mol Cell. 2013 Nov 21;52(4):495-505. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2013.09.016.
Zhi-Yang Tsun 1 2,  Liron Bar-Peled # 1 2,  Lynne Chantranupong # 1 2,  Roberto Zoncu 1 2,  Tim Wang 1 2,  Choah Kim 1 2,  Eric Spooner 1,  David M Sabatini 1 2 3
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biology, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
  • 2 Koch Institute for Integrative for Cancer Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • 3 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • # Contributed equally.
PMID: 24095279 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2013.09.016
Abstract

The mTORC1 kinase is a master growth regulator that senses numerous environmental cues, including Amino acids. The Rag GTPases interact with mTORC1 and signal amino acid sufficiency by promoting the translocation of mTORC1 to the lysosomal surface, its site of activation. The Rags are unusual GTPases in that they function as obligate heterodimers, which consist of RagA or B bound to RagC or D. While the loading of RagA/B with GTP initiates amino acid signaling to mTORC1, the role of RagC/D is unknown. Here, we show that RagC/D is a key regulator of the interaction of mTORC1 with the Rag heterodimer and that, unexpectedly, RagC/D must be GDP bound for the interaction to occur. We identify FLCN and its binding partners, FNIP1/2, as Rag-interacting proteins with GAP activity for RagC/D, but not RagA/B. Thus, we reveal a role for RagC/D in mTORC1 activation and a molecular function for the FLCN tumor suppressor.

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