We also performed microarray analysis of PyMT - Slc6a14 + / + and PyMT - Slc6a14 − / − mammary tumours to evaluate the expression
of amino acid transporters without any biased preconception of the identity of the transporters that might be subject to changes in expression in association with Slc6a14 deletion.
The expression profiles of 13 different
amino acid transporters in lung and colon tissues from wild - type and Slc6a14 − / − mice and also in Slc6a14 + / + tumours and Slc6a14 − / − tumours from age - matched PyMT - Tg mice were monitored by reverse transcriptase (RT)- PCR.
The plasma amino acids were similar in wild - type and knockout mice and there were no major compensatory changes in the expression of
other amino acid transporter mRNAs.
(C) Analysis of expression of 12 different
amino acid transporter mRNAs in colon and lung tissues from WT (+ / +) and Slc6a14 − / − female mice.
With 12
different amino acid transporters examined by RT - PCR, none of the transporters differed in expression between PyMT - driven tumours with Slc6a14 + / + and Slc6a14 − / − backgrounds (result not shown).
Sarcosine enters cells via proton -
coupled amino acid transporters (PAT), which are overexpressed in selected tissues and solid tumors — making it an excellent imaging target.
A study by Babu et al. in a recent issue of the Biochemical Journal definitively shows that SLC6A14 (where SLC is solute carrier) is one such cancer -
specific amino acid transporter.
We have identified a
novel amino acid transporter, SLC6A14, as a drug target for cancer treatment; this transporter has functional features superior to those of SLC1A5, SLC7A5 and SLC7A11 to support tumour growth.
Upstream ORFs and ATF4 - binding sites are found in many genes, but for the purposes of this review genes that carry out biosynthesis of non-essential amino acids (ASNS, alanine aminotransferase 2, PSAT, serine hydroxymethyltransferase 2, pyrroline -5-carboxylate reductase and glutamate - oxaloacetate transaminase) and genes
encoding amino acid transporters (cat1, ASCT1, ASCT2, SNAT2, SNAT7, LAT1, EAAT5 and xCT) are notably abundant [83,120].
The best source for humans is from the meat of other animals, though it can be difficult to get enough tryptophan into the brain, as it is the least abundant amino acid in muscle tissue, and it has to compete with all the other more abundant aromatic amino acids for the
aromatic amino acid transporter.
Analysis of transcriptomes in tumour tissues from wild - type mice and Slc6a14 - null mice indicated no compensatory changes in the expression of any
other amino acid transporter mRNA.
Chaudhry will investigate whether the family
of amino acid transporters he discovered while at UCSF may play a role outside the synapse, perhaps in non-neurological diseases such as chronic metabolic acidosis or even cancer.
In colon and lung of the knockout mice, there were no major compensatory changes in the expression of any of the 12
amino acid transporter mRNAs examined (Figure 1C).
The studies revealed that
some amino acid transporters are indeed preferentially localized in the eisosome.
Chromosome - associated protein D3 promotes bacterial clearance in human intestinal epithelial cells by repressing expression of
amino acid transporters.
In one pathway described from larvae, the fat body - specific down - regulation of either the Slimfast (Slif)
amino acid transporter or the Target of Rapamycin (TOR) nutrient - sensing pathway affects systemic growth, suggesting that a hitherto unidentified amino acid - dependent signal (s) is secreted by the fat body for proper growth control [8].
There is a growing interest in
amino acid transporters in cancer cells; recent studies have highlighted the importance of three amino acid transporters, namely SLC1A5, SLC7A5 and SLC7A11, as potential drug targets for cancer therapy [4 — 8].
This effect is not associated with compensatory changes in the expression of any other
amino acid transporter.
We then examined whether the Slc6a14 − / − tumours up - regulated the expression of other
amino acid transporters to compensate for the lack of Slc6a14.
There were only four transporters with 2-fold or higher up - regulation in Slc6a14 − / − tumours; among these, only two were
amino acid transporters: Slc1a3 and Slc7a2.
This pathway implicates SLC38A9,
an amino acid transporter expressed on the lysosomal membrane, in mTOR activation.
Deletion of
the amino acid transporter Slc6a14 suppresses tumour growth in spontaneous mouse models of breast cancer
Amino acids are absorbed in the small intestine with the help of
amino acid transporters and sodium, by the same mechanism as glucose [9].