mTORC2 (Target of Rapamycin Complex -2) mediates the synthesis and relay of cAMP [
11,
15,
16,
22]. Activation of mTORC2 depends on heterotrimeric G- protein function and intermediate G-proteins, including Ras GTPases [
23,
24,
25].
rip3- and
lst-8- cells are unable to activate aggregation stage specific adenyl cyclase in response to chemoattractant stimulation [
16,
18]. Our Western blot studies show the absence of CsaA expression in
rip-3- cells, which can be due to inhibition of adenyl cyclase and weak cAMP signal relay. The inductions of Cad-1 protein expression are independent of cAMP response and hence rip-
3- cells (impaired mTORC2 activity) compensate the loss of CsaA by expressing higher levels of Cad-1 proteins. Phosphorylation of Cad-1 is regulated by Ras GTPases and influences
Dictyostelium cell-cell adhesion [
26]. Ras-GTP/RIP-3 interaction is essential for normal RIP- 3/mTORC2 function [
16] and loss of
rip-3 or mTOR kinase activity could result in hyper-phosphorylation of Cad-1 proteins by Ras-GTPase. The mTOR signaling cascade regulates gene expression in response to nutrient stress [
27]. Caffeine affects growth and development of
Dictyostelium by inactivating mTORC1 [
4,
28]. When
Dictyostelium cells are grown for 12h in the presence of caffeine and developed in its absence, it induces early CsaA expression [
4]. This indicates deficiency of nutrient sensing capability mediated by mTORC1. The expression of CsaA in early stages suggests precocious differentiation. Lst-8 is part of both mTORC1 and mTORC2 [
29] and so
lst8- cells may have both the complexes mTORC1 and mTORC2 inactivated. The early expression of CsaA in
lst-8- cells may be because mTORC1 is inactivated, and hence nutrient sensing capability is limited, and the cells may go through developmental program earlier than wild type cells. Although
lst-8- cells produce both the cell adhesion proteins Cad-1 and CsaA they remain solitary and do not participate in streaming and aggregate formation. Our earlier study showed [
4] that the expression of CsaA is not detectable at 6h and 8h of development of
Dictystelium AX2 cells in the presence of caffeine that result in delayed aggregation by 3-4 hours. These results corroborate with absence of CsaA in
rip3- cells. Immuno-fluorescence staining reveals that
lst-8- cells are defective in transport of these proteins to the cell surface to mediate cell adhesion. The defective of protein transport mechanism is independent of mTORC2 as
rip3- mutants (inactive mTORC2) mimic wild type cells distribution of the proteins at the cell surface.
lst-8- cells have a weak cAMP signal relay that is regulated by mTORC2.
Lst- 8 is also an essential unit for the activity of mTORC1 and regulating transcription of several genes involved in proteins trafficking. Caffeine may also be accompanying these effects via affecting the mTOR complexes. Caffeine is known to weaken the cAMP signal relay that could also be due to inhibition of mTORC2 activation as it regulates activity of adenyl cyclases [
4,
28,
30]. Similar to
lst-8- cells, caffeine (5-7 mM) may also be impairing cell adhesion proteins expression at cell surface that result in no aggregation. Weaken cAMP singal relay and impaired expression and localization of cell adhesion proteins (Cad-1 and CsaA) may result in inhibition of aggregates formation in the presence of caffeine. Process regulated by mTORC1 such as ribosome biogenesis is carried out by ribosomal proteins [
11,
31,
32,
33,
34]. mTORC1 mediates transcription of ribosomal genes through all three RNA polymerases (I, II, and III; [
32,
35,
36,
37]. Inactivation of mTORC1 may affect the synthesis of proteins essential for transporting these cell adhesion molecules to the cell surface. In the future, caffeine’s effect on innate immunity can be pursued as it causes DNA damage. Innate immune responses are mediated through the cGAS and RIG-I pathways [
38,
39]. It can also be investigated whether mTOR kinases regulate cGAS and RIG-I pathways for immune responses against pathogens like Salmonella [
40,
41].