Targeting Glutamine Induces Apoptosis: A Cancer Therapy Approach

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Lian Chen¹  Hengmin Cui¹ 

[1] Key Laboratory of Animal Diseases and Environmental Hazards of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agriculture University, Ya’an 625014, China; E-Mail:

关键词: glutamine metabolism;    apoptosis;    glutaminase;    cancer;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms160922830

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Glutamine metabolism has been proved to be dysregulated in many cancer cells, and is essential for proliferation of most cancer cells, which makes glutamine an appealing target for cancer therapy. In order to be well used by cells, glutamine must be transported to cells by specific transporters and converted to glutamate by glutaminase. There are currently several drugs that target glutaminase under development or clinical trials. Also, glutamine metabolism restriction has been proved to be effective in inhibiting tumor growth both in vivo and vitro through inducing apoptosis, growth arrest and/or autophagy. Here, we review recent researches about glutamine metabolism in cancer, and cell death induced by targeting glutamine, and their potential roles in cancer therapy.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.