Leucyl-tRNA synthetase is an intracellular leucine sensor for the mTORC1-signaling pathway

Amino acids are required for activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinase, which regulates protein translation, cell size, and autophagy. However, the amino acid sensor that directly couples intracellular amino acid-mediated signaling to mTORC1 is unknown. Here we show that leucyl-tRNA synthetase (LRS) plays a critical role in amino acid-induced mTORC1 activation by sensing intracellular leucine concentration and initiating molecular events leading to mTORC1 activation.

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Han, J. M., et al. (2012). Leucyl-tRNA synthetase is an intracellular leucine sensor for the mTORC1-signaling pathway. Cell. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2012.02.044

@article{HAN2012,
  author       = {Han, J. M. and Kim, S. and others},
  title        = {{Leucyl-tRNA synthetase is an intracellular leucine sensor for the mTORC1-signaling pathway}},
  journal      = {Cell},
  year         = {2012},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.cell.2012.02.044},
  note         = {PMID: 22424946},
}

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 HAN2012) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/HAN2012/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_HAN2012,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record HAN2012},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/HAN2012/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}