An in vivo and in vitro assessment of TOR signaling cascade in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2008 Jul;295(1):R329-35. doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.00146.2008. Epub 2008 Apr 23.

Abstract

In mammals, feeding promotes protein accretion in skeletal muscle through a stimulation of the insulin- and amino acid- sensitive mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway, leading to the induction of mRNA translation. The purpose of the present study was to characterize both in vivo and in vitro the activation of several major kinases involved in the mTOR pathway in the muscle of the carnivorous rainbow trout. Our results showed that meal feeding enhanced the phosphorylation of the target of rapamycin (TOR), PKB, p70 S6 kinase, and eIF4E-binding protein-1, suggesting that the mechanisms involved in the regulation of mRNA translation are well conserved between lower and higher vertebrates. Our in vitro studies on primary culture of trout muscle cells indicate that insulin and amino acids regulate TOR signaling and thus may be involved in meal feeding effect in this species as in mammals. In conclusion, we report here for the first time in a fish species, the existence and the nutritional regulation of several major kinases involved in the TOR pathway, opening a new area of research on the molecular bases of amino acid utilization in teleosts.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acids / blood
  • Animals
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Eating / physiology
  • Eukaryotic Initiation Factors / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Insulin / blood
  • Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / metabolism
  • Oncorhynchus mykiss / metabolism*
  • Protein Kinases / metabolism*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / metabolism
  • Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction / physiology*
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Amino Acids
  • Eukaryotic Initiation Factors
  • Insulin
  • Protein Kinases
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
  • Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases