mTORc1 AND FoxO

Adult mouse muscle satellite cells (MuSCs) are quiescent in uninjured muscles. Upon injury, MuSCs exit quiescence in vivo to become activated, re-enter the cell cycle to proliferate, and differentiate to repair the damaged muscles. It remains unclear which extrinsic cues and intrinsic signaling pathways regulate quiescence exit during MuSC activation. Here, we demonstrated that inducible MuSC-specific deletion of p110α , a catalytic subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), rendered MuSCs unable to exit quiescence, resulting in severely impaired MuSC proliferation and muscle regeneration...

The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinase is central to metabolism and growth, and has a conserved role in aging. mTOR functions in two complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2. In diverse eukaryotes, inhibition of mTORC1 signaling increases lifespan. mTORC1 transduces anabolic signals to stimulate protein synthesis and inhibits autophagy. In this study, we demonstrate that CGEF-1, the C. elegans homolog of the human guanine nucleotide exchange factor Dbl, is a novel binding partner of RHEB-1 and activator of mTORC1 signaling in C...

Neurodegeneration resulting in cognitive and motor impairment is an inevitable consequence of aging. Little is known about the genetic regulation of this process despite its overriding importance in normal aging. Here, we identify the Forkhead Box O (FOXO) transcription factor 1, 3, and 4 isoforms as a guardian of neuronal integrity by inhibiting age-progressive axonal degeneration in mammals. FOXO expression progressively increased in aging human and mouse brains. The nervous system-specific deletion of Foxo transcription factors in mice accelerates aging-related axonal tract degeneration, which is followed by motor dysfunction...

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a fatal lung disease associated with germline or somatic inactivating mutations in tuberous sclerosis complex genes ( TSC1 or TSC2 ). LAM is characterized by neoplastic growth of smooth muscle-α-actin-positive cells that destroy lung parenchyma and by the formation of benign renal neoplasms called angiolipomas. The mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) inhibitor rapamycin slows progression of these diseases but is not curative and associated with notable toxicity at clinically effective doses, highlighting the need for better understanding LAM's molecular etiology...

The mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPR(mt)) has been associated with long lifespan across metazoans. In Caenorhabditis elegans, mild developmental mitochondrial stress activates UPR(mt) reporters and extends lifespan. We show that similar developmental stress is necessary and sufficient to extend Drosophila lifespan, and identify Phosphoglycerate Mutase 5 (PGAM5) as a mediator of this response. Developmental mitochondrial stress leads to activation of FoxO, via Apoptosis Signal-regulating Kinase 1 (ASK1) and Jun-N-terminal Kinase (JNK)...

Cellular homeostasis is a continuous phenomenon that if compromised can lead to several disorders including cancer. There is a need to understand the dynamics of cellular proliferation to get deeper insights into the prevalence of cancer. Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) is implicated as the central regulator of the metabolic pathway involved in growth whereas its two distinct complexes mTORC1 and mTORC2 perform particular functions in cellular propagation. To date, mTORC1 is a well defined therapeutic target to inhibit uncontrolled cell division, while the role of mTORC2 is not well characterized...

Activation of the FOXO transcription factor DAF-16 by reduced insulin/IGF signaling (IIS) is considered to be beneficial in C. elegans due to its ability to extend lifespan and to enhance stress resistance. In the germline, cell-autonomous DAF-16 activity prevents stem cell proliferation, thus acting tumor-suppressive. In contrast, hypodermal DAF-16 causes a tumorous germline phenotype characterized by hyperproliferation of the germline stem cells and rupture of the adjacent basement membrane. Here we show that cross-talk between DAF-16 and the transforming growth factor ß (TGFß)/bone morphogenic protein (BMP) signaling pathway causes germline hyperplasia and results in disruption of the basement membrane...

The Ser and Thr kinase AKT, also known as protein kinase B (PKB), was discovered 25 years ago and has been the focus of tens of thousands of studies in diverse fields of biology and medicine. There have been many advances in our knowledge of the upstream regulatory inputs into AKT, key multifunctional downstream signaling nodes (GSK3, FoxO, mTORC1), which greatly expand the functional repertoire of AKT, and the complex circuitry of this dynamically branching and looping signaling network that is ubiquitous to nearly every cell in our body...

Undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) has been implicated in skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity and function. However, whether muscle mass and strength loss in atrophic conditions is related to a reduction in ucOC is not clear. We hypothesized that both immobilization and testosterone depletion would lead to reductions in ucOC, associated with not only the degree of muscle atrophy but also changes to atrophy signaling pathway(s) in male rats. We subjected 8-week-old male Fischer (F344) rats to 7 days of hindlimb immobilization 10 days after castration surgery...

Sestrins 1 to 3 constitute a family of proteins that are induced in mammalian cells in response to environmental stressors. Despite their apparent lack of intrinsic catalytic antioxidant activity, Sestrins protect cells from oxidative stress by lowering intracellular levels of H2O2. Here we review the mechanisms by which various types of cellular stress induce Sestrin gene transcription as well as those underlying the antioxidant function of these proteins. Several transcriptional factors, including p53, HIF-1, FoxO, C/EBP-β, ATF4, Nrf2, and PGC-1α, contribute directly to the transcriptional activation of Sestrin genes in response to various types of stress...

Akt kinase, a member of AGC kinases, is important in many cellular functions including proliferation, migration, cell growth and metabolism. There are three known Akt isoforms which play critical and diverse roles in the cardiovascular system. Akt activity is regulated by its upstream regulatory pathways at transcriptional and post-translational levels. Beta-catenin/Tcf-4, GLI1 and Stat-3 are some of few known transcriptional regulators of AKT gene. Threonine 308 and serine 473 are the two critical phosphorylation sites of Akt1...

It is now well established that the E and Id protein axis regulates multiple steps in lymphocyte development. However, it remains unknown how E and Id proteins mechanistically enforce and maintain the naïve T-cell fate. Here we show that Id2 and Id3 suppressed the development and expansion of innate variant follicular helper T (TFH) cells. Innate variant TFH cells required major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-like signaling and were associated with germinal center B cells. We found that Id2 and Id3 induced Foxo1 and Foxp1 expression to antagonize the activation of a TFH transcription signature...

FoxO proteins are important regulators in cellular metabolism and are recognized to be nodes in multiple signaling pathways, most notably those involving PI3K/AKT and mTOR. FoxO proteins primarily function as transcription factors, but recent study suggests that cytosolic FoxO1 participates in the regulation of autophagy. In the current study, we find that cytosolic FoxO1 indeed stimulates cellular autophagy in multiple cancer cell lines, and that it regulates not only basal autophagy but also that induced by rapamycin and that in response to nutrient deprivation...

Central to cellular proliferative, survival, and metabolic responses is the serine/threonine kinase mTOR, which is activated in many human cancers. mTOR is present in distinct complexes that are either modulated by AKT (mTORC1) or are upstream and regulatory of it (mTORC2). Governance of mTORC2 activity is poorly understood. Here, we report a transmembrane molecule in hematopoietic progenitor cells that physically interacts with and inhibits RICTOR, an essential component of mTORC2. Upstream of mTORC2 (UT2) negatively regulates mTORC2 enzymatic activity, reducing AKT(S473), PKCα, and NDRG1 phosphorylation and increasing FOXO transcriptional activity in an mTORC2-dependent manner...

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a kinase that functions in two distinct complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2. In peripheral B cells, complete deletion of mTOR suppresses germinal center B-cell responses, including class switching and somatic hypermutation. The allosteric mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin blocks proliferation and differentiation, but lower doses can promote protective IgM responses. To elucidate the complexity of mTOR signaling in B cells further, we used ATP-competitive mTOR kinase inhibitors (TOR-KIs), which inhibit both mTORC1 and mTORC2...

Physical exercise is a stress that can substantially modulate cellular signaling mechanisms to promote morphological and metabolic adaptations. Skeletal muscle protein and organelle turnover is dependent on two major cellular pathways: Forkhead box class O proteins (FOXO) transcription factors that regulate two main proteolytic systems, the ubiquitin-proteasome, and the autophagy-lysosome systems, including mitochondrial autophagy, and the MTORC1 signaling associated with protein translation and autophagy inhibition...

RATIONALE: Forkhead box-O transcription factors (FoxOs) transduce a wide range of extracellular signals, resulting in changes in cell survival, cell cycle progression, and several cell type-specific responses. FoxO1 is expressed in many cell types, including endothelial cells (ECs). Previous studies have shown that Foxo1 knockout in mice results in embryonic lethality at E11 because of impaired vascular development. In contrast, somatic deletion of Foxo1 is associated with hyperproliferation of ECs...

In this issue, Hellmann-Regen et al. suggested that anti-acne effects of erythromycin and tetracyclines may be related to their inhibitory effect of cytochrome P450-mediated degradation of all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA). We have recently proposed that all anti-acne agents function by attenuation of increased mTORC1 signalling. This commentary links the P450 system to mTORC1 regulation in acne. Drug-mediated induction of P450 activity or P450 mutants with increased catabolic activity may reduce cellular ATRA levels and FoxO1 expression, thus reducing FoxO-mediated mTORC1 inhibition...

Skeletal muscle mass and function are regulated by motor innervation, and denervation results in muscle atrophy. The activity of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is substantially increased in denervated muscle, but its regulatory role in denervation-induced atrophy remains unclear. At early stages after denervation of skeletal muscle, a pathway involving class II histone deacetylases and the transcription factor myogenin mediates denervation-induced muscle atrophy. We found that at later stages after denervation of fast-twitch muscle, activation of mTORC1 contributed to atrophy and that denervation-induced atrophy was mitigated by inhibition of mTORC1 with rapamycin...

Through pattern recognition receptors, infections and tissue injuries drive innate immune cells to trigger inflammation with elevated cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and other mediators. Inflammation resolves upon removal of pathogenic signals and the presence of pro-resolving conditions including combating adaptive immunity. Failure of resolution progresses into chronic inflammation, manifesting as detrimental disease development known as inflammatory diseases including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, cancers, etc...