The tuberous sclerosis-1 (TSC1) gene product hamartin suppresses cell growth and augments the expression of the TSC2 product tuberin by inhibiting its ubiquitination

We report here that overexpression of the tuberous sclerosis-1 (TSC1) gene product hamartin results in the inhibition of growth, as well as changes in cell morphology, Growth inhibition was associated with an increase in the endogenous level of the product of the tuberous sclerosis-2 (TSC2) gene, tu berin. As over-expression of tuberin inhibits cell growth, and hamartin is known to bind tuberin, these results suggested that hamartin stabilizes tub erin and this contributes to the inhibition of cell growth. Indeed, transie nt transfection of TSC1 increased the endogenous level of tuberin, and tran sient co-transfection of TSC1 with TSC2 resulted in higher tuberin levels. The stabilization was explained by the finding that tuberin is highly ubiqu itinated in cells, while the fraction of tuberin that is bound to hamartin is not ubiquitinated, Go-expression of tuberin stabilized hamartin, which i s weakly ubiquitinated, in transiently transfected cells. The amino-termina l two-thirds of tuberin was responsible for its ubiquitination and for stab ilization of hamartin, A mutant of tuberin from a patient missense mutation of TSC2 was also highly ubiquitinated, and was unable to stabilize hamarti n, We conclude that hamartin is a growth inhibitory protein whose biologica l effect is likely dependent on its interaction with tuberin.