mTOR and S6K1 drive polycystic kidney by the control of Afadin-dependent oriented cell division

Martina Bonucci, Nicolas Kuperwasser, Serena Barbe, Vonda Koka, Delphine de Villeneuve, Chi Zhang, Nishit Srivastava, Xiaoying Jia, Matthew P. Stokes, Frank Bienaimé, Virginie Verkarre, Jean Baptiste Lopez, Fanny Jaulin, Marco Pontoglio, Fabiola Terzi, Benedicte Delaval, Matthieu Piel, Mario Pende

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    22 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    mTOR activation is essential and sufficient to cause polycystic kidneys in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) and other genetic disorders. In disease models, a sharp increase of proliferation and cyst formation correlates with a dramatic loss of oriented cell division (OCD). We find that OCD distortion is intrinsically due to S6 kinase 1 (S6K1) activation. The concomitant loss of S6K1 in Tsc1-mutant mice restores OCD but does not decrease hyperproliferation, leading to non-cystic harmonious hyper growth of kidneys. Mass spectrometry-based phosphoproteomics for S6K1 substrates revealed Afadin, a known component of cell-cell junctions required to couple intercellular adhesions and cortical cues to spindle orientation. Afadin is directly phosphorylated by S6K1 and abnormally decorates the apical surface of Tsc1-mutant cells with E-cadherin and α-catenin. Our data reveal that S6K1 hyperactivity alters centrosome positioning in mitotic cells, affecting oriented cell division and promoting kidney cysts in conditions of mTOR hyperactivity.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number3200
    JournalNature Communications
    Volume11
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2020

    Cite this