Johannes L. (Hans) Bos
Cancer biologist known for work on Ras mutations and for the small GTPase Rap1 and its activator Epac, a cAMP-regulated switch for cell adhesion
Professor of Physiological Chemistry, Utrecht University (since 1991) · Head, Department of Molecular Cancer Research, UMC Utrecht · Member, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (2006) · Member, EMBO (1996) · Josephine Nefkens Prize for Cancer Research (2014) · Born 1950
Portrait: UMC Utrecht
Hans Bos studied biochemistry in Amsterdam, earned his doctorate in 1980 and began studying mutated Ras genes in 1984, when the link between Ras and cancer was still new. Since 1991 he has been a professor in Utrecht, where his group studies Ras-like small GTPases, molecular switches that flip between an off and an on state, and in particular Rap1 and the cAMP sensor Epac.
In 2005 Bos took part in a study from George Thomas's laboratory in Basel that asked how amino acids switch on mTOR. Until then most pictures put insulin and class 1 PI3-kinase in charge. The paper found a separate route in which amino acids act through a different enzyme, class 3 PI3-kinase hVps34, which helped establish that nutrients and hormones feed into mTORC1 by different inputs.
Besides his own research, Bos has led large Dutch cancer research programmes, including a 2013 international 'Dream Team' project co-led with Hans Clevers. He is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and of EMBO.
Milestones in the Atlas
A selection, not a full bibliography: only papers that meet the Atlas inclusion criteria.
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | M | Insulin activation of Rheb, a mediator of mTOR/S6K/4E-BP signaling, is inhibited by TSC1 and 2 GAR2003 Insulin activates Rheb-GTP, inhibited by TSC1/2, positioning Rheb as the direct upstream activator of TOR. |
| 2005 | M | Amino acids mediate mTOR/raptor signaling through activation of class 3 phosphatidylinositol 3OH-kinase NOB2005 Co-author of the PNAS paper showing that amino acids reach mTOR/raptor through class 3 PI3-kinase hVps34, separate from the insulin route; he contributed as a small-GTPase specialist from Utrecht. |
Co-authors in the Atlas
People with a profile here who share at least one study with Johannes L. (Hans) Bos.
- Takahiro Nobukuni 2 shared studies Showed as first author that amino acids activate mTOR through the lipid kinase hVps34, by a route separate from insulin signalling through TSC, in parallel with a study from Jonathan Backer's laboratory
- Ernst Hafen Developmental geneticist who used Drosophila to work out how insulin and TOR signalling control cell and body size, including the role of Rheb.
- George Thomas Purified and cloned S6K1, the kinase that became the classic readout of mTORC1 activity. His lab later showed that mice lacking S6K1 resist diet-induced obesity, and that amino acids signal to mTORC1 through the lipid kinase hVps34 (GUL2008)
- Jonathan M. Backer Showed that the class III PI 3-kinase hVps34, best known for its role in autophagy, is regulated by nutrients and is needed for amino acids to activate S6 kinase through mTOR, in parallel with George Thomas's group
- Maya P. Byfield Showed as first author that the lipid kinase hVps34 is regulated by nutrients and is needed for amino acids to activate S6 kinase through mTOR, in parallel with a study from George Thomas's group
- Sara C. Kozma Studies the S6K/mTOR pathway and how it controls cell growth, ribosome production, diabetes and cancer, including mTOR signalling in liver cancer.
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