Glutaminase Regulation in Cancer Cells: a Druggable Chain of Events

Overview

Journal Drug Discov Today

Specialty Pharmacology

Date 2013 Oct 22

PMID 24140288

Citations 61

Authors

William P Katt

Richard A Cerione

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Metabolism is the process by which cells convert relatively simple extracellular nutrients into energy and building blocks necessary for their growth and survival. In cancer cells, metabolism is dramatically altered compared with normal cells. These alterations are known as the Warburg effect. One consequence of these changes is cellular addiction to glutamine. Because of this, in recent years the enzyme glutaminase has become a key target for small molecule therapeutic intervention. Like many oncotargets, however, glutaminase has a number of upstream partners that might offer additional druggable targets. This review summarizes the work from the current decade surrounding glutaminase and its regulation, and suggests strategies for therapeutic intervention in relevant cases.

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