eIF4A moonlights as an off switch for TORC1

Abstract

TORC1 is actively inhibited upon amino acid withdrawal. Tsokanos et al (2016) shed light on the underlying molecular mechanism. They demonstrate that upon removal of exogenous amino acids, eIF4A inhibits TORC1 via TSC2. Thus, whereas it is well known that TORC1 regulates the translation machinery, we now know the inverse is also true.