Analysis of amino acid-dependent signal transduction from transporters to mTOR by cell-free assay system

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26860171
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: General pharmacology
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: OKUDA Suguru 大阪大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (50511846)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: アミノ酸 / シグナル伝達

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We performed experiments to reveal the mechanism of mTORC1 stimulation by amino acids. The main results are described below. 1) The recognition moieties of leucine by an amino acid transporter LAT1, which localizes on the plasma membrane of cancer cells and is a main transporter to take leucine up into cells, were determined by the experiments with various leucine derivatives. The important moieties of leucine to activate mTORC1 were also revealed. 2) We established the cell-free assay to identify important factors for mTOR to sense amino acid availability, and to analyze its molecular mechanism. In this assay system, we could observe the effect of additives for mTOR activity. This system is expected to be used for analyzing how the amino acid sensing relates to cell growth and proliferation.

Free Research Field

生化学