TSC patients develop multi-system disease including benign tumors of the brain, heart, skin and kidney. By age 10, 80% of children with TSC have renal angiomyolipomas and/or renal cysts. Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex 1 (TORC1), which is activated in tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), is a master regulator of cell growth, cellular metabolism, and autophagy. Treatment with TORC1 inhibitors partially decreases the size of TSC-associated brain and kidney lesions, but they regrow when treatment is stopped. Our central hypothesis is that dysregulation of autophagy and cellular metabolism plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of TSC and in the response of TSC-associated renal lesions to TORC1-targeted therapy.
In Aims 1 and 2, we will test the hypothesis that low levels of autophagy in TSC2-deficient cells lead to a """"""""metabolic starvation"""""""" phenotype, making TSC2-deficient cells hypersensitive to further autophagy inhibition. Consistent with this hypothesis, we have found that inhibiting autophagy induces metabolic dysregulation and decreases the in vivo growth of TSC2-deficient cells.
In Aim 3, we will address the hypothesis that p62/sequestosome1-dependent signaling networks promote the growth and survival of TSC2-deficient cells. Consistent with this hypothesis, we have found that p62 accumulates in human angiomyolipomas and other TSC2-deficient cells as a consequence of low autophagy, and that shRNA down regulation of p62 inhibits the in vivo growth of TSC2-deficient cells. Our in vivo strategy (Aims 2 and 3) includes TSC2-deficient angiomyolipoma-derived cells and renal cyst/cystadenoma quantitation in Tsc2+/- mice. Throughout the proposal, we will utilize innovative, state-of-the-art technology including real-time monitoring of bioenergetic parameters using the """"""""Seahorse"""""""" system, metabolomic profiling in collaboration with the Broad Institute, high throughput synthetic-lethality drug screening, and in vivo bioluminescent detection of angiomyolipoma cells. Novel reagents will be generated, including 2 new mouse models (Tsc2+/-Atg5+/- and Tsc2+/-p62-/-.) and angiomyolipoma-derived cells with shRNA down regulation of key molecules. The significance of this project is that it will reveal for the firsttime how autophagy-dependent cellular networks contribute to the pathogenesis of renal disease in TSC. We expect this project to have high impact because TSC-associated lesions have devastating consequences in both children and adults and because the TORC1 signaling network is dysregulated in other human diseases including polycystic kidney disease.

Public Health Relevance

Novel therapeutic paradigms are urgently needed for children and adults with TSC, for whom the only non- surgical treatment option is continuous, perhaps life-long, treatment with TORC1 inhibitors. We will identify the central mechanisms through which autophagy-dependent signaling networks impact the pathogenesis and targeted therapy of TSC, leading to new therapeutic paradigms for TSC and the many other human diseases in which the TORC1 signaling axis is dysregulated.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DK096556-02
Application #
8539609
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (KMBD)
Program Officer
Rasooly, Rebekah S
Project Start
2012-09-03
Project End
2017-05-31
Budget Start
2013-06-01
Budget End
2014-05-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$352,002
Indirect Cost
$142,114
Name
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Department
Type
DUNS #
030811269
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02115
Lam, Hilaire C; Liu, Heng-Jia; Baglini, Christian V et al. (2017) Rapamycin-induced miR-21 promotes mitochondrial homeostasis and adaptation in mTORC1 activated cells. Oncotarget 8:64714-64727
Filippakis, Harilaos; Alesi, Nicola; Ogorek, Barbara et al. (2017) Lysosomal regulation of cholesterol homeostasis in tuberous sclerosis complex is mediated via NPC1 and LDL-R. Oncotarget 8:38099-38112
Lam, Hilaire C; Nijmeh, Julie; Henske, Elizabeth P (2017) New developments in the genetics and pathogenesis of tumours in tuberous sclerosis complex. J Pathol 241:219-225
Lam, Hilaire C; Baglini, Christian V; Lope, Alicia Llorente et al. (2017) p62/SQSTM1 Cooperates with Hyperactive mTORC1 to Regulate Glutathione Production, Maintain Mitochondrial Integrity, and Promote Tumorigenesis. Cancer Res 77:3255-3267
Ren, Siying; Luo, Yongfeng; Chen, Hui et al. (2016) Inactivation of Tsc2 in Mesoderm-Derived Cells Causes Polycystic Kidney Lesions and Impairs Lung Alveolarization. Am J Pathol 186:3261-3272
Priolo, Carmen; Ricoult, Stéphane J H; Khabibullin, Damir et al. (2015) Tuberous sclerosis complex 2 loss increases lysophosphatidylcholine synthesis in lymphangioleiomyomatosis. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 53:33-41
Medvetz, Doug; Priolo, Carmen; Henske, Elizabeth P (2015) Therapeutic targeting of cellular metabolism in cells with hyperactive mTORC1: a paradigm shift. Mol Cancer Res 13:3-8
Medvetz, Doug; Sun, Yang; Li, Chenggang et al. (2015) High-throughput drug screen identifies chelerythrine as a selective inducer of death in a TSC2-null setting. Mol Cancer Res 13:50-62
Parkhitko, Andrey A; Priolo, Carmen; Coloff, Jonathan L et al. (2014) Autophagy-dependent metabolic reprogramming sensitizes TSC2-deficient cells to the antimetabolite 6-aminonicotinamide. Mol Cancer Res 12:48-57
Henske, Elizabeth P; Rasooly, Rebekah; Siroky, Brian et al. (2014) Tuberous sclerosis complex, mTOR, and the kidney: report of an NIDDK-sponsored workshop. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 306:F279-83

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