Sugar and glutamine

[Guest guest]

Could glutamine supplementation be harmful?

karla

" It's been known since 1923 that tumor cells use a lot more glucose than normal

cells. Our research helps show how this process takes place, and how it might be

stopped to control tumor growth, " says Don Ayer, Ph.D., a Huntsman Cancer

Institute investigator and professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences

at the University of Utah.

During both normal and cancerous cell growth, a cellular process takes place

that involves both glucose (sugar) and glutamine (an amino acid). Glucose and

glutamine are both essential for cell growth, and it was long assumed they

operated independently, but Ayer's research shows they are inter-dependent. He

discovered that by restricting glutamine availability, glucose utilization is

also stopped. " Essentially, if you don't have glutamine, the cell is short

circuited due to a lack of glucose, which halts the growth of the tumor cell "

Ayer says.

The research, spearheaded by Mohan Kaadige, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in

Ayer's lab, focused on MondoA, a protein that is responsible for turning genes

on and off. In the presence of glutamine, MondoA blocks the expression of a gene

called TXNIP. TXNIP is thought to be a tumor suppressor, but when it's blocked

by MondoA , it allows cells to take up glucose, which in turn drives tumor

growth. Ayer's research could lead to new drugs that would target glutamine

utilization, or target MondoA or TXNIP.

Ayer says the next step in his research is to develop animal models to test his

ideas about how MondoA and TXNIP control cell growth. " If we can understand

that, we can break the cycle of glucose utilization which could be beneficial in

the treatment of cancer, " Ayer says.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------