Defective autophagy and mTORC1 signaling in myotubularin null mice

Mol Cell Biol. 2013 Jan;33(1):98-110. doi: 10.1128/MCB.01075-12. Epub 2012 Oct 29.

Abstract

Autophagy is a vesicular trafficking pathway that regulates the degradation of aggregated proteins and damaged organelles. Initiation of autophagy requires several multiprotein signaling complexes, such as the ULK1 kinase complex and the Vps34 lipid kinase complex, which generates phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate [PtdIns(3)P] on the forming autophagosomal membrane. Alterations in autophagy have been reported for various diseases, including myopathies. Here we show that skeletal muscle autophagy is compromised in mice deficient in the X-linked myotubular myopathy (XLMTM)-associated PtdIns(3)P phosphatase myotubularin (MTM1). Mtm1-deficient muscle displays several cellular abnormalities, including a profound increase in ubiquitin aggregates and abnormal mitochondria. Further, we show that Mtm1 deficiency is accompanied by activation of mTORC1 signaling, which persists even following starvation. In vivo pharmacological inhibition of mTOR is sufficient to normalize aberrant autophagy and improve muscle phenotypes in Mtm1 null mice. These results suggest that aberrant mTORC1 signaling and impaired autophagy are consequences of the loss of Mtm1 and may play a primary role in disease pathogenesis.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Autophagy / drug effects
  • Autophagy / genetics*
  • Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Mutant Strains
  • Mitochondria / genetics
  • Mitochondria / metabolism
  • Mitochondria / pathology
  • Multiprotein Complexes
  • Muscle, Skeletal / drug effects
  • Muscle, Skeletal / metabolism
  • Muscle, Skeletal / pathology
  • Myopathies, Structural, Congenital / genetics
  • Myopathies, Structural, Congenital / metabolism
  • Myopathies, Structural, Congenital / pathology
  • Phosphatidylinositol Phosphates / metabolism
  • Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases, Non-Receptor / genetics
  • Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases, Non-Receptor / metabolism*
  • Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Proteins / metabolism*
  • Signal Transduction / genetics
  • Sirolimus / pharmacology
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Ubiquitin / metabolism

Substances

  • Multiprotein Complexes
  • Phosphatidylinositol Phosphates
  • Proteins
  • Ubiquitin
  • phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate
  • Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases, Non-Receptor
  • myotubularin
  • Sirolimus