A nutrient-induced affinity switch controls mTORC1 activation by its Rag GTPase-Ragulator lysosomal scaffold

Lawrence RE, Zoncu R et al. · 2018 · Nature cell biology · Atlas ID LAW2018

What this study shows

A nutrient-induced affinity switch in the Rag-Ragulator scaffold controls mTORC1 lysosomal recruitment.

Abstract

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A key step in nutrient sensing is activation of the master growth regulator, mTORC1 kinase, on the lysosomal membrane. Nutrients enable mTORC1 scaffolding by a complex composed of the Rag GTPases (Rags) and Ragulator, but the underlying mechanism of mTORC1 capture is poorly understood. Combining dynamic imaging in cells and reconstituted systems, we uncover an affinity switch that controls mTORC1 lifetime and activation at the lysosome.

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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	Nature cell biology
Year	2018
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-08-22
Source	DOI 10.1038/s41556-018-0148-6 · PMID 30061680 · Free full text (PMC6279252)

Extracted findings

Intervention	Biochemical/imaging (Rag-Ragulator)
Target	Rag GTPases / Ragulator / mTORC1
Model	Mammalian cells
Effect	A nutrient-induced affinity switch controls mTORC1 capture and lifetime on the Rag-Ragulator lysosomal scaffold

Cite this paper

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Lawrence, R. E., et al. (2018). A nutrient-induced affinity switch controls mTORC1 activation by its Rag GTPase-Ragulator lysosomal scaffold. Nature cell biology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-018-0148-6

@article{LAW2018,
  author       = {Lawrence, R. E. and Zoncu, R. and others},
  title        = {{A nutrient-induced affinity switch controls mTORC1 activation by its Rag GTPase-Ragulator lysosomal scaffold}},
  journal      = {Nature cell biology},
  year         = {2018},
  doi          = {10.1038/s41556-018-0148-6},
  note         = {PMID: 30061680},
}

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 LAW2018) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/LAW2018/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_LAW2018,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record LAW2018},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/LAW2018/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}