Navitor Pharmaceuticals’ Scientific Founder Makes Landmark Discovery Of The Molecular Sensor For The Amino Acid Leucine

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Navitor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines targeting the activation of mTORC1, today announced that the company’s scientific founder, David M. Sabatini, M.D., Ph.D., published groundbreaking research describing, for the first time, the identification and characterization of the cellular proteins responsible for sensing and mediating the metabolic effects of the amino acid leucine. The paper, published today online in the journal Science, elucidates a key regulatory node related to leucine that was previously unknown within the multiple steps of the mTORC1 activation pathway. The anabolic amino acid, leucine, is critical in cellular protein and lipid synthesis and directly regulates mammalian physiology including skeletal muscle growth, insulin secretion and food intake. As such, the ability to pharmacologically target the newly-discovered sensor for leucine opens a potential avenue for the modulation of mTORC1 to address healthspan and a range of diseases of aging including metabolic, neurodegenerative, autoimmune diseases, certain cancers as well as age-related immune suppression and several genetic and rare diseases.

The discovery published in Science extends more than two decades of Dr. Sabatini’s seminal research focused on the mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) pathway, a critical regulator of cellular growth and metabolism. Previous discoveries published by the Sabatini laboratory in late 2014 found that a family of proteins called sestrins act as molecular sensors in the cell that regulate mTORC1 activity in response to the availability of amino acids. The newly-published research in Science, which was performed in Dr. Sabatini’s laboratory at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, further elucidates that two members of the sestrin family directly bind to the amino acid leucine, which in turn regulates the activation status of mTORC1. The fact that dietary leucine levels dictate the availability of this essential amino acid and directly impact the physiological response mediated by mTORC1 places the sestrins at a critical regulatory node in the cell that can be pharmacologically modulated with small molecule drug compounds to inhibit or activate the mTORC1 pathway. Dr. Sabatini co-authored the paper in Science and serves as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Biology at MIT and associated member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

“The discovery of this long sought-after mediator of mTORC1 activation by leucine opens up a novel and powerful approach to yield a new generation of drugs for multiple diseases of aging. This is exactly aligned with Navitor’s approach to develop medicines that selectively target mTORC1 based on targeting critical cellular proteins involved in the activation of mTORC1 through nutrients such as amino acids and other components,” said George P. Vlasuk, Ph.D., President and CEO of Navitor Pharmaceuticals.

“Leucine is one of the most physiologically important amino acids implicated in the regulation of mTORC1 activity; as such, it is a key driver of cellular growth and metabolism. This landmark discovery of the molecular sensor that links the availability of leucine to the activation status of mTORC1 in the cell facilitates a novel approach for the discovery and development of new drugs that can turn up or turn down mTORC1,” added Dr. Vlasuk.

The mTORC1 molecular complex integrates multiple cellular signaling pathways in response to the availability of nutrients such as amino acids thereby serving as the primary central control point responsible for cellular growth and metabolism. The inhibition of mTORC1 has been demonstrated to address many diseases of aging – including metabolic, neurodegenerative, autoimmune diseases, and certain cancers – as well as beneficially impacting healthspan leading to improved longevity in species as diverse as yeast to mice. In contrast, the reduced activity of mTORC1 is thought to play an important role in the atrophy of skeletal muscle associated with age (sarcopenia), immobilization and disease. Therefore, targeting cellular components involved in the regulation of mTORC1 activity that can yield both “inhibitors” as well as “activators” of this complex offer a novel and powerful approach to the discovery and development of a new generation of drugs for the treatment of many diseases caused by the dysregulation of mTORC1.

About mTORC1

The mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) kinase exists in two multi-protein complexes within the cell, called mTORC1 and mTORC2. Both complexes are critical signaling nodes that regulate multiple cellular functions including metabolism, growth and response to changes in the cell’s environment. mTORC1 responds to and integrates the cell’s response to nutrient availability and growth factors and plays a key role in protein synthesis and cellular growth. As a critical regulatory pathway, mTORC1 is often dysregulated in multiple diseases across several important therapeutic areas. While several approved drugs (rapamycin and related allosteric mTORC1 inhibitors) target the broad mTOR pathway for certain specific disease applications, the use of these first generation drugs has been limited since they inhibit both mTORC1 and mTORC2, leading to undesirable side effects when used chronically. Navitor’s therapeutics are designed to selectively modulate the cellular signals that are aberrant in disease processes caused by the dysregulation of mTORC1 activity without inhibiting mTORC2.

About Navitor

Navitor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines by targeting cellular nutrient signaling pathways. The company’s proprietary drug discovery platform targets mTORC1, which responds to and integrates the cell’s response to nutrient availability and plays a key role in protein synthesis and cellular growth. Navitor’s therapeutics are designed to selectively modulate the cellular signals that are aberrant in disease processes caused by the dysregulation of mTORC1 activation to address a wide range of diseases, including metabolic, neurodegenerative, autoimmune and musculoskeletal diseases, as well as age-related immune suppression and several rare disorders. The company’s founding intellectual property is based on the groundbreaking discoveries related to the mTORC1 pathway and nutrient signaling mechanisms by Dr. David Sabatini at The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. The company is backed by leading financial and corporate investors, including Polaris Partners, Atlas Venture, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, SR One and The Longevity Fund. For more information, please visit www.navitorpharma.com.