Metabolism. Differential regulation of mTORC1 by leucine and glutamine

Jewell JL, Kim YC, Russell RC, Yu FX, Park HW, Plouffe SW, Tagliabracci VS, Guan KL · 2015 · Science · Atlas ID JEW2015

What this study shows

Glutamine activates mTORC1 via a Rag-independent, Arf1-dependent route distinct from leucine.

Abstract

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The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex 1 (mTORC1) integrates environmental and intracellular signals to regulate cell growth. Amino acids stimulate mTORC1 activation at the lysosome in a manner thought to be dependent on the Rag small guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases), the Ragulator complex, and the vacuolar H(+)-adenosine triphosphatase (v-ATPase). We report that leucine and glutamine stimulate mTORC1 by Rag GTPase-dependent and -independent mechanisms, respectively.

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	Science
Year	2015
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-10-01
Source	DOI 10.1126/science.1259472 · PMID 25567907 · Free full text (PMC4384888)

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
Target	mTORC1 / Rag GTPases
Model	Mammalian cells
Effect	Leucine activates mTORC1 via the Rags; glutamine activates it Rag-independently – differential regulation

In the Atlas

Links in the pathway map

Supports Glutamine activates mTORC1

Learn the biology

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Cite this paper

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Jewell, J. L., Kim, Y. C., Russell, R. C., Yu, F. X., Park, H. W., Plouffe, S. W., Tagliabracci, V. S., & Guan, K. L. (2015). Metabolism. Differential regulation of mTORC1 by leucine and glutamine. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1259472

@article{JEW2015,
  author       = {Jewell, J. L. and Kim, Y. C. and Russell, R. C. and Yu, F. X. and Park, H. W. and Plouffe, S. W. and Tagliabracci, V. S. and Guan, K. L.},
  title        = {{Metabolism. Differential regulation of mTORC1 by leucine and glutamine}},
  journal      = {Science},
  year         = {2015},
  doi          = {10.1126/science.1259472},
  note         = {PMID: 25567907},
}

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 JEW2015) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/JEW2015/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_JEW2015,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record JEW2015},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/JEW2015/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}

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