细胞生长受到各种营养环境与生长因子的精准调控.蛋白质是细胞内含量最多的大分子物质,氨基酸作为代谢底物参与了细胞蛋白质的合成等重要生理过程.同时,氨基酸作为重要信号分子对机体多种病理生理学过程的调控也愈加受到关注.近年来,营养感应及其病理生理学意义逐渐受到重视.由于氨基酸在细胞生长中发挥的核心作用,氨基酸感应显得尤为重要.mTORC1作为氨基酸的核心感应信号尤其受到关注,细胞内氨基酸的精准感受对于mTORC1功能的正常发挥至关重要.研究发现,细胞内多种氨基酸感应器,如氨基酸转运体、味觉受体、GCN 等多种转运体 / 受体 / 分子,能够介导氨基酸信号,进而调节mTORC1活性,在氨基酸感应过程中发挥重要作用.更为重要的是,mTORC1对氨基酸感应的失调在恶性肿瘤细胞增殖、转移等方面发挥了关键角色.越来越多证据表明,多种氨基酸感应器及其对mTORC1 的调节均可能作为恶性肿瘤治疗的潜在靶点,这为探明肿瘤发生、发展机制,寻找新的防治策略提供新的思路.本文拟就 mTORC1在氨基酸感应中的作用及其在恶性肿瘤发生、发展中的角色进行综述.
Cell growth is regulated precisely by many nutritional and growth factors. Protein is the most abundant macromolecular substance in the cell. Amino acid, as its metabolic substrate, is involved in many important physiological processes including protein synthesis. Moreover, amino acid, as a vital signaling molecule, is also important in the regulation of many pathophysiological changes. In recent years, studies have paid more attention to nutritional sensing and its pathophysiological signifcance. As the vital role in the cell growth, amino acid sensing has received the most attention. mTORC1 is the key sensing signaling in amino acid sensing. The precise sensing of amino acid in the cell is important to the normal functions of mTORC1. Many amino acid sensors, including amino acid transporters, taste receptors and GCN, mediate amino acid signaling, regulate the mTORC1 activity, and are associated with the process of amino acid sensing. More importantly, the dysregulation of mTORC1 on the amino acid sensing play an important role in the proliferation and metastasis of malignant tumor. More and more studies show that the amino acid sensor and its mediated mTORC1 regulation may be a potential target in the treatment of cancer. In this article, we review the functions of mTORC1 in the regulation of amino acid sensing and its role in the development of malignant tumor.