A Glutamine 'tug-of-war': Targets to Manipulate Glutamine Metabolism for Cancer Immunotherapy

Overview

Journal Immunother Adv

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialty Allergy & Immunology

Date 2021 Sep 20

PMID 34541580

Citations 15

Authors

Laura J Pallett

Sarah Dimeloe

Linda V Sinclair

Adam J Byrne

Anna Schurich

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Within the tumour microenvironment (TME), there is a cellular 'tug-of-war' for glutamine, the most abundant amino acid in the body. This competition is most evident when considering the balance between a successful anti-tumour immune response and the uncontrolled growth of tumour cells that are addicted to glutamine. The differential effects of manipulating glutamine abundance in individual cell types is an area of intense research and debate. Here, we discuss some of the current strategies in development altering local glutamine availability focusing on inhibition of enzymes involved in the utilisation of glutamine and its uptake by cells in the TME. Further studies are urgently needed to complete our understanding of glutamine metabolism, to provide critical insights into the pathways that represent promising targets and for the development of novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of advanced or drug resistant cancers.

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