Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) phosphorylates inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 2 and increases its Ca(2+) release activity.

There is substantial evidence that crosstalk between the proliferation and Ca(2+)-signaling pathways plays a critical role in the regulation of normal physiological functions as well as in the pathogenesis of a variety of abnormal processes. In non-excitable cells, intracellular Ca(2+) is mobilized through inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate sensitive Ca(2+) channels (IP(3)R) expressed on the endoplasmic reticulum. Here we report that mTOR, a point of convergence for signals from mitogenic growth factors, nutrients and cellular energy levels, phosphorylates the IP(3)R-2, the predominant isoform of IP(3)R in AR4-2J cells. Pretreatment with the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin, decreased carbachol-induced Ca(2+) release in AR4-2J cells. Rapamycin also decreased IP(3)-induced Ca(2+) release in permeabilized AR4-2J cells. We also showed that IGF-1 potentiates carbachol-induced Ca(2+) release in AR4-2J cells, an effect that was prevented by rapamycin. Rapamycin also decreased carbachol-induced Ca(2+) release in HEK 293A cells in which IP(3)R-1 and IP(3)R-3 had been knocked down. These results suggest that mTOR potentiates the activity of IP(3)R-2 by a phosphorylation mechanism. This conclusion supports the concept of crosstalk between Ca(2+) signaling and proliferation pathways and thus provides another way by which intracellular Ca(2+) signals are finely encoded.