Department of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, USA.
J Biol Chem. 2012 Apr 6;287(15):12510-9. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M111.302117. Epub 2012 Feb 22.
Intestinal cell kinase (ICK), named after its cloning origin, the intestine, is actually a ubiquitously expressed and highly conserved serine/threonine protein kinase. Recently we reported that ICK supports cell proliferation and G(1) cell cycle progression. ICK deficiency significantly disrupted the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling events. However, the biological substrates that mediate the downstream signaling effects of ICK in proliferation and the molecular mechanisms by which ICK interacts with mTORC1 are not well defined. Our prior studies also provided biochemical evidence that ICK interacts with the mTOR/Raptor complex in cells and phosphorylates Raptor in vitro. In this report, we investigated whether and how ICK targets Raptor to regulate the activity of mTORC1. Using the ICK substrate consensus sequence [R-P-X-S/T-P/A/T/S], we identified a putative phosphorylation site, RPGT908T, for ICK in human Raptor. By mass spectrometry and a phospho-specific antibody, we showed that Raptor Thr-908 is a novel in vivo phosphorylation site. ICK is able to phosphorylate Raptor Thr-908 both in vitro and in vivo and when Raptor exists in protein complexes with or without mTOR. Although expression of the Raptor T908A mutant did not affect the mTORC1 integrity, it markedly impaired the mTORC1 activation by insulin or by overexpression of the small GTP-binding protein RheB under nutrient starvation. Our findings demonstrate an important role for ICK in modulating the activity of mTORC1 through phosphorylation of Raptor Thr-908 and thus implicate a potential signaling mechanism by which ICK regulates cell proliferation and division.
肠激酶 (ICK) 是以其克隆起源地肠道命名的,实际上是一种广泛表达且高度保守的丝氨酸/苏氨酸蛋白激酶。最近我们报道称,ICK 支持细胞增殖和 G1 细胞周期进程。ICK 缺乏显著破坏了雷帕霉素靶蛋白 (mTOR) 复合物 1 (mTORC1) 的信号事件。然而,介导 ICK 在增殖中的下游信号效应的生物学底物以及 ICK 与 mTORC1 相互作用的分子机制尚不清楚。我们之前的研究还提供了生化证据,表明 ICK 在细胞中与 mTOR/Raptor 复合物相互作用,并在体外磷酸化 Raptor。在本报告中,我们研究了 ICK 是否以及如何靶向 Raptor 来调节 mTORC1 的活性。使用 ICK 底物共有序列 [R-P-X-S/T-P/A/T/S],我们在人类 Raptor 中鉴定出一个潜在的 ICK 磷酸化位点 RPGT908T。通过质谱和磷酸特异性抗体,我们表明 Raptor Thr-908 是一个新的体内磷酸化位点。ICK 能够在体外和体内以及当 Raptor 存在于与 mTOR 结合或不结合的蛋白质复合物中时磷酸化 Raptor Thr-908。尽管表达 Raptor T908A 突变体不会影响 mTORC1 的完整性,但它明显削弱了胰岛素或营养饥饿下过表达小 GTP 结合蛋白 RheB 对 mTORC1 的激活作用。我们的发现表明 ICK 通过磷酸化 Raptor Thr-908 在调节 mTORC1 活性方面发挥重要作用,从而暗示了 ICK 调节细胞增殖和分裂的潜在信号机制。