Folliculin (FLCN) is the tumor suppressor associated with Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) syndrome that predisposes patients to incident of hamartomas and cysts in multiple organs. Its inactivation causes deregulation in the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling pathway. However, the underlying mechanism is poorly defined. In this study, we show that FLCN is a ciliary protein that functions through primary cilia to regulate mTORC1. In response to flow stress, FLCN associates with LKB1 and recruits the kinase to primary cilia for activation of AMPK resided at basal bodies, which causes mTORC1 down-regulation. In cells depleted of FLCN, LKB1 fails to accumulate in primary cilia and AMPK at the basal bodies remains inactive, thus nullifying the inhibitory effect of flow stress on mTORC1 activity. Our results demonstrate that FLCN is part of a flow sensory mechanism that regulates mTORC1 through primary cilia.
Keywords: AMP-activated kinase (AMPK); FLCN; LKB1; folliculin; mTOR complex (mTORC); mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR); primary cilium; tumor suppressor gene.
© 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.