Ragulator is a GEF for the rag GTPases that signal amino acid levels to mTORC1

Bar-Peled L, Schweitzer LD, Zoncu R, Sabatini DM · 2012 · Cell · Atlas ID BAR2012

What this study shows

Ragulator was reported as a guanine-nucleotide exchange factor for RagA/B on the lysosome; later work places Ragulator's exchange activity on RagC and assigns RagA GTP loading to SLC38A9, so the tethering role is the better-established one.

Abstract

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The mTOR Complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway regulates cell growth in response to numerous cues, including amino acids, which promote mTORC1 translocation to the lysosomal surface, its site of activation. The heterodimeric RagA/B-RagC/D GTPases, the Ragulator complex that tethers the Rags to the lysosome, and the v-ATPase form a signaling system that is necessary for amino acid sensing by mTORC1. Amino acids stimulate the binding of guanosine triphosphate to RagA and RagB but the factors that regulate Rag nucleotide loading are unknown.

Read the full abstract on PubMed →

At a glance

Evidence type	M Molecular — cells, biochemistry, structure Marked M because it is molecular or in-vitro work (model: Mammalian cells) rather than a whole-organism health-outcome study. That is often exactly where causal biology gets established -- the code says which system the finding was shown in, and nothing about how good the work is.
Study type	5 - Mechanistic / In Vitro
Model system	Mammalian cells
Journal	Cell
Year	2012
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-10-01
Source	DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2012.07.032 · PMID 22980980 · Free full text (PMC3517996)

Extracted findings

These fields were extracted from the paper with AI assistance and have not been checked against the source. Read them as a pointer into the paper, not as curated claims; where they disagree with the curated summary above, the curated summary stands.

Intervention	Biochemical/genetic (Ragulator)
Target	Ragulator / Rag GTPases / mTORC1
Model	Mammalian cells
Effect	Ragulator is a GEF for RagA/B, activating the Rags to signal amino-acid levels to mTORC1 at the lysosome

In the Atlas

Links in the pathway map

Supports Ragulator activates Rag GTPases
Supports v-ATPase required-for Ragulator

Learn the biology

Want to understand the biology behind this study? → The Lysosome as a Signalling Platform

Cite this paper

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Bar-Peled, L., Schweitzer, L. D., Zoncu, R., & Sabatini, D. M. (2012). Ragulator is a GEF for the rag GTPases that signal amino acid levels to mTORC1. Cell. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2012.07.032

@article{BAR2012,
  author       = {Bar-Peled, L. and Schweitzer, L. D. and Zoncu, R. and Sabatini, D. M.},
  title        = {{Ragulator is a GEF for the rag GTPases that signal amino acid levels to mTORC1}},
  journal      = {Cell},
  year         = {2012},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.cell.2012.07.032},
  note         = {PMID: 22980980},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper.

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record BAR2012) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/BAR2012/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_BAR2012,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record BAR2012},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/BAR2012/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}

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