- Adebayo Michael, Adeola O;
- Ko, Sungjin;
- Tao, Junyan;
- Moghe, Akshata;
- Yang, Hong;
- Xu, Meng;
- Russell, Jacquelyn O;
- Pradhan-Sundd, Tirthadipa;
- Liu, Silvia;
- Singh, Sucha;
- Poddar, Minakshi;
- Monga, Jayvir S;
- Liu, Pin;
- Oertel, Michael;
- Ranganathan, Sarangarajan;
- Singhi, Aatur;
- Rebouissou, Sandra;
- Zucman-Rossi, Jessica;
- Ribback, Silvia;
- Calvisi, Diego;
- Qvartskhava, Natalia;
- Görg, Boris;
- Häussinger, Dieter;
- Chen, Xin;
- Monga, Satdarshan P
Based on their lobule location, hepatocytes display differential gene expression, including pericentral hepatocytes that surround the central vein, which are marked by Wnt-β-catenin signaling. Activating β-catenin mutations occur in a variety of liver tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but no specific therapies are available to treat these tumor subsets. Here, we identify a positive relationship between β-catenin activation, its transcriptional target glutamine synthetase (GS), and p-mTOR-S2448, an indicator of mTORC1 activation. In normal livers of mice and humans, pericentral hepatocytes were simultaneously GS and p-mTOR-S2448 positive, as were β-catenin-mutated liver tumors. Genetic disruption of β-catenin signaling or GS prevented p-mTOR-S2448 expression, while its forced expression in β-catenin-deficient livers led to ectopic p-mTOR-S2448 expression. Further, we found notable therapeutic benefit of mTORC1 inhibition in mutant-β-catenin-driven HCC through suppression of cell proliferation and survival. Thus, mTORC1 inhibitors could be highly relevant in the treatment of liver tumors that are β-catenin mutated and GS positive.