Tuberous sclerosis complex is a tumor suppressor gene syndrome whose manifestations can include seizures, mental retardation, and benign tumors of the brain, skin, heart, and kidneys. Hamartin and tuberin, the products of the TSC1 and TSC2 genes, respectively, form a complex and inhibit signaling by the mammalian target of rapamycin. Here, we demonstrate that endogenous hamartin is threonine-phosphorylated during nocodazole-induced G 2 /M arrest and during the G 2 /M phase of a normal cell cycle. In vitro assays showed that cyclin-dependent kinase 1 phosphorylates hamartin at three sites, one of which (Thr 417 ) is in the hamartintuberin interaction domain. Tuberin interacts with phosphohamartin, and tuberin expression attenuates the phosphorylation of exogenous hamartin. Hamartin with alanine mutations in the three cyclin-dependent kinase 1 phosphorylation sites increased the inhibition of p70S6 kinase by the hamartin-tuberin complex. These findings support a model in which phosphorylation of hamartin regulates the function of the hamartin-tuberin complex during the G 2 /M phase of the cell cycle.
Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC)1 is a tumor suppressor gene syndrome whose manifestations can include seizures, mental retardation, autism, and tumors in the brain, retina, kidney, heart, and skin. Mutations in two genes, TSC1 on chromosome 9q34 (1) and TSC2 on chromosome 16p13 (2), cause TSC. Tuberin, the TSC2 gene product, and hamartin, the TSC1 gene product, are known to interact (3, 4) and appear to function as a complex.Hamartin and tuberin function in multiple cellular pathways in mammalian cells, including vesicular trafficking (5), regulation of the G 1 phase of the cell cycle (6 -10), steroid hormone regulation (11), and Rho activation (12, 13). Tuberin has a highly conserved domain with homology to rap1 GTPaseactivating protein, and it has been shown to possess GTPaseactivating protein activity for Rap1A (14), Rab5 (5), and Rheb (15-18). Hyperphosphorylation of p70S6 kinase (p70S6K) and/or its substrate ribosomal protein S6 occurs in cells lacking hamartin from a murine model of TSC1 (19), in cells lacking tuberin from the Eker rat model of TSC2 (20,21), and in tumor cells containing TSC2 mutations (22), demonstrating that the hamartin-tuberin complex negatively regulates p70S6K. Studies in Drosophila (9, 10, 23) and mammalian cells suggest that regulation of p70S6K by the hamartin-tuberin complex is mediated by the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) (24, 25), although controversy exists (26).Tuberin is phosphorylated by the kinase Akt (protein kinase B) (24, 27-30). Phosphorylation of tuberin by Akt negatively regulates inhibition of p70S6K by tuberin. Tuberin is also a substrate of the p38 and MK2 kinase cascade (31), mediating its interaction with 14-3-3 (32-34). Here, we report that endogenous hamartin is phosphorylated during G 2 /M, demonstrating for the first time that hamartin, like tuberin, is regulated by phosphorylation. Results from both in vitro and in vivo experiments indicate that hamartin ...