mTORC1 suppresses PIM3 expression via miR-33 encoded by the SREBP loci

Sci Rep. 2017 Nov 23;7(1):16112. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-16398-y.

Abstract

The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a central regulator of cell growth that is often aberrantly activated in cancer. However, mTORC1 inhibitors, such as rapamycin, have limited effectiveness as single agent cancer therapies, with feedback mechanisms inherent to the signaling network thought to diminish the anti-tumor effects of mTORC1 inhibition. Here, we identify the protein kinase and proto-oncogene PIM3 as being repressed downstream of mTORC1 signaling. PIM3 expression is suppressed in cells with loss of the tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) tumor suppressors, which exhibit growth factor-independent activation of mTORC1, and in the mouse liver upon feeding-induced activation of mTORC1. Inhibition of mTORC1 with rapamycin induces PIM3 transcript and protein levels in a variety of settings. Suppression of PIM3 involves the sterol regulatory element-binding (SREBP) transcription factors SREBP1 and 2, whose activation and mRNA expression are stimulated by mTORC1 signaling. We find that PIM3 repression is mediated by miR-33, an intronic microRNA encoded within the SREBP loci, the expression of which is decreased with rapamycin. These results demonstrate that PIM3 is induced upon mTORC1 inhibition, with potential implications for the effects of mTORC1 inhibitors in TSC, cancers, and the many other disease settings influenced by aberrant mTORC1 signaling.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Humans
  • Immunoblotting
  • Male
  • Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 / genetics
  • Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 / metabolism*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • MicroRNAs / genetics
  • MicroRNAs / metabolism
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / genetics
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism*
  • Proto-Oncogene Mas
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / genetics
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / metabolism*
  • Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Proteins / genetics
  • Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Proteins / metabolism*
  • Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 2 Protein / genetics
  • Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 2 Protein / metabolism

Substances

  • MAS1 protein, human
  • MIRN33a microRNA, human
  • MicroRNAs
  • Proto-Oncogene Mas
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Proteins
  • TSC2 protein, human
  • Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 2 Protein
  • Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1
  • PIM3 protein, human
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases