Adenovirus Overrides Cellular Checkpoints for Protein Translation

mTOR is a critical regulator of protein translation, and plays an important role in controlling cellular replication. Recent studies indicate that nutrient and growth factor mediated activation of mTOR is deregulated in human cancer, and therefore represents an attractive tumor target. However, activation of mTOR is a complex process that is not yet fully understood. DNA viruses and tumor cells often perturb similar cellular pathways to facilitate their replication. In a recent study, we used adenovirus as a novel tool to probe the mechanisms underlying the inappropriate activation of mTOR upon virus infection of quiescent primary cells. These studies revealed that adenovirus encodes two viral proteins, E4-ORF1 and E4-ORF4, which activate mTOR, even in the absence of nutrient/growth factor signals, and which play a role in promoting viral replication. E4-ORF1 mimics growth factor signaling to mTOR by activating PI3-kinase, whereas E4-ORF4, which binds and relocalizes PP2A, can substitute for glucose mediated activation of mTOR. We discuss insights from this study, together with the similarities that may exist between viruses and tumor cells with respect to the mechanistic and functional requirements for mTOR activation in driving their aberrant DNA replication.