The GATOR2–mTORC2 axis mediates Sestrin2-induced AKT Ser/Thr kinase activation

Abstract

Sestrins represent a family of stress-inducible proteins that prevent the progression of many age- and obesity-associated disorders. Endogenous Sestrins maintain insulin-dependent AKT Ser/Thr kinase (AKT) activation during high-fat diet–induced obesity, and overexpressed Sestrins activate AKT in various cell types, including liver and skeletal muscle cells. Although Sestrin-mediated AKT activation improves metabolic parameters, the mechanistic details underlying such improvement remain elusive. Here, we investigated how Sestrin2, the Sestrin homolog highly expressed in liver, induces strong AKT activation. We found that two known targets of Sestrin2, mTOR complex (mTORC) 1 and AMP-activated protein kinase, are not required for Sestrin2-induced AKT activation. Rather, phosphoinositol 3-kinase and mTORC2, kinases upstream of AKT, were essential for Sestrin2-induced AKT activation. Among these kinases, mTORC2 catalytic activity was strongly up-regulated upon Sestrin2 overexpression in an in vitro kinase assay, indicating that mTORC2 may represent the major link between Sestrin2 and AKT. As reported previously, Sestrin2 interacted with mTORC2; however, we found here that this interaction occurs indirectly through GATOR2, a pentameric protein complex that directly interacts with Sestrin2. Deleting or silencing WDR24 (WD repeat domain 24), the GATOR2 component essential for the Sestrin2–GATOR2 interaction, or WDR59, the GATOR2 component essential for the GATOR2–mTORC2 interaction, completely ablated Sestrin2-induced AKT activation. We also noted that Sestrin2 also directly binds to the pleckstrin homology domain of AKT and induces AKT translocation to the plasma membrane. These results uncover a signaling mechanism whereby Sestrin2 activates AKT through GATOR2 and mTORC2.