mTORC1 Activator SLC38A9 Is Required to Efflux Essential Amino Acids from Lysosomes and Use Protein as a Nutrient

The mTORC1 kinase is a master growth regulator that senses many environmental cues, including amino acids. Activation of mTORC1 by arginine requires SLC38A9, a poorly understood lysosomal membrane protein with homology to amino acid transporters. Here, we validate that SLC38A9 is an arginine sensor for the mTORC1 pathway, and we uncover an unexpectedly central role for SLC38A9 in amino acid homeostasis. SLC38A9 mediates the transport, in an arginine-regulated fashion, of many essential amino acids out of lysosomes, including leucine, which mTORC1 senses through the cytosolic Sestrin proteins.

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Wyant, G. A., et al. (2017). mTORC1 Activator SLC38A9 Is Required to Efflux Essential Amino Acids from Lysosomes and Use Protein as a Nutrient. Cell. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.09.046

@article{WYA2017,
  author       = {Wyant, G. A. and Sabatini, D. M. and others},
  title        = {{mTORC1 Activator SLC38A9 Is Required to Efflux Essential Amino Acids from Lysosomes and Use Protein as a Nutrient}},
  journal      = {Cell},
  year         = {2017},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.cell.2017.09.046},
  note         = {PMID: 29053970},
}

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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 WYA2017) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/WYA2017/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_WYA2017,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record WYA2017},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/WYA2017/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}