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Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex 1 (mTORC1) is an important, highly conserved, regulator of cell growth. Ancient among the signals that regulate mTORC1 are nutrients. Amino acids direct mTORC1 to the surface of the late endosome/lysosome, where mTORC1 becomes receptive to other inputs. However, the interplay between endosomes and mTORC1 is poorly understood. Here, we report the discovery of a network that links mTORC1 to a critical component of the late endosome/lysosome, the V‐ATPase. In an unbiased screen, we found that mTORC1 regulated the expression of, among other lysosomal genes, the V‐ATPases. mTORC1 regulates V‐ATPase expression both in cells and in mice. V‐ATPase regulation by mTORC1 involves a transcription factor translocated in renal cancer, TFEB. TFEB is required for the expression of a large subset of mTORC1 responsive genes. mTORC1 coordinately regulates TFEB phosphorylation and nuclear localization and in a manner dependent on both TFEB and V‐ATPases, mTORC1 promotes endocytosis. These data uncover a regulatory network linking an oncogenic transcription factor that is a master regulator of lysosomal biogenesis, TFEB, to mTORC1 and endocytosis. TORC1 is a key regulator of cell growth in response to nutrients and acts at the surface of the late endosome. This study identifies V‐ATPase genes as transcriptional targets of TORC1 and implicates the transcription factor TFEB as an important mediator of TORC1‐dependent gene expression and TORC1‐regulated endocytosis.

Cadmium (Cd), a highly ubiquitous heavy metal, is a well-known inducer of neurotoxicity. However, the mechanism underlying cadmium-induced neurotoxicity remains unclear. In this study, we found that Cd inhibits autophagosome-lysosome fusion and impairs lysosomal function by reducing the levels of lysosomal-associated membrane proteins, inhibiting lysosomal proteolysis and altering lysosomal pH, contributing to defects in autophagic clearance and subsequently leading to nerve cell death. In addition, Cd decreases transcription factor EB (TFEB) expression at both the mRNA and protein levels. Furthermore, Cd induces the nuclear translocation of TFEB and TFEB target-gene expression, associated with compromised lysosomal function or a compensatory effect after the impairment of the autophagic flux. Notably, restoration of the levels of lysosomal-associated membrane protein, lysosomal proteolysis, lysosomal pH and autophagic flux through Tfeb overexpression protects against Cd-induced neurotoxicity, and this protective effect is incompletely dependent on TFEB nuclear translocation. Moreover, gene transfer of the master autophagy regulator TFEB results in the clearance of toxic proteins and the correction of Cd-induced neurotoxicity in vivo . Our study is the first to demonstrate that Cd disrupts lysosomal function and autophagic flux and manipulation of TFEB signalling may be a therapeutic approach for antagonizing Cd-induced neurotoxicity.