1. Academic Validation
  2. PRMT1 orchestrates with SAMTOR to govern mTORC1 methionine sensing via Arg-methylation of NPRL2

PRMT1 orchestrates with SAMTOR to govern mTORC1 methionine sensing via Arg-methylation of NPRL2

  • Cell Metab. 2023 Dec 5;35(12):2183-2199.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2023.11.001.
Cong Jiang 1 Jing Liu 2 Shaohui He 3 Wei Xu 3 Runzhi Huang 4 Weijuan Pan 5 Xiaolong Li 6 Xiaoming Dai 2 Jianping Guo 2 Tao Zhang 2 Hiroyuki Inuzuka 2 Ping Wang 4 John M Asara 2 Jianru Xiao 7 Wenyi Wei 8
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Joint Research Center for Musculoskeletal Tumor of Shanghai Changzheng Hospital and University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Spinal Tumor Center, Department of Orthopedic Oncology, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Shanghai 200003, China; Tongji University Cancer Center, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
  • 2 Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
  • 3 Joint Research Center for Musculoskeletal Tumor of Shanghai Changzheng Hospital and University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Spinal Tumor Center, Department of Orthopedic Oncology, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Shanghai 200003, China.
  • 4 Tongji University Cancer Center, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
  • 5 Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.
  • 6 Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
  • 7 Joint Research Center for Musculoskeletal Tumor of Shanghai Changzheng Hospital and University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Spinal Tumor Center, Department of Orthopedic Oncology, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Shanghai 200003, China. Electronic address: jianruxiao83@163.com.
  • 8 Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: wwei2@bidmc.harvard.edu.
Abstract

Methionine is an essential branch of diverse nutrient inputs that dictate mTORC1 activation. In the absence of methionine, SAMTOR binds to GATOR1 and inhibits mTORC1 signaling. However, how mTORC1 is activated upon methionine stimulation remains largely elusive. Here, we report that PRMT1 senses methionine/SAM by utilizing SAM as a cofactor for an enzymatic activity-based regulation of mTORC1 signaling. Under methionine-sufficient conditions, elevated cytosolic SAM releases SAMTOR from GATOR1, which confers the association of PRMT1 with GATOR1. Subsequently, SAM-loaded PRMT1 methylates NPRL2, the catalytic subunit of GATOR1, thereby suppressing its GAP activity and leading to mTORC1 activation. Notably, genetic or pharmacological inhibition of PRMT1 impedes hepatic methionine sensing by mTORC1 and improves Insulin sensitivity in aged mice, establishing the role of PRMT1-mediated methionine sensing at physiological levels. Thus, PRMT1 coordinates with SAMTOR to form the methionine-sensing apparatus of mTORC1 signaling.

Keywords

GATOR1; NPRL2; PRMT1; arginine methylation; mTOR; methionine sensing; nutrient sensing.

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