Aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect) is a core hallmark of cancer, but the molecular mechanisms underlying it remain unclear. Here, we identify an unexpected central role for mTORC2 in cancer metabolic reprogramming where it controls glycolytic metabolism by ultimately regulating the cellular level of c-Myc. We show that mTORC2 promotes inactivating phosphorylation of class IIa histone deacetylases, which leads to the acetylation of FoxO1 and FoxO3, and this in turn releases c-Myc from a suppressive miR-34c-dependent network. These central features of activated mTORC2 signaling, acetylated FoxO, and c-Myc levels are highly intercorrelated in clinical samples and with shorter survival of GBM patients. These results identify a specific, Akt-independent role for mTORC2 in regulating glycolytic metabolism in cancer.

Intratumoral heterogeneity of signaling networks may contribute to targeted cancer therapy resistance, including in the highly lethal brain cancer glioblastoma (GBM). We performed single-cell phosphoproteomics on a patient-derived in vivo GBM model of mTOR kinase inhibitor resistance and coupled it to an analytical approach for detecting changes in signaling coordination. Alterations in the protein signaling coordination were resolved as early as 2.5 days after treatment, anticipating drug resistance long before it was clinically manifest. Combination therapies were identified that resulted in complete and sustained tumor suppression in vivo. This approach may identify actionable alterations in signal coordination that underlie adaptive resistance, which can be suppressed through combination drug therapy, including non-obvious drug combinations.