Amino acid transporters revisited: New views in health and disease
Open accessAbstract
Amino acid transporters (AATs) are membrane-bound transport proteins that mediate transfer of amino acids into and out of cells or cellular organelles. AATs have diverse functional roles ranging from neurotransmission to acid-base balance, intracellular energy metabolism, and anabolic and catabolic reactions. In cancer cells and diabetes, dysregulation of AATs leads to metabolic reprogramming, which changes intracellular amino acid levels, contributing to the pathogenesis of cancer, obesity and diabetes. Indeed, the neutral amino acid transporters (NATs) SLC7A5/LAT1 and SLC1A5/ASCT2 are likely involved in several human malignancies. However, a clinical therapy that directly targets AATs has not yet been developed. The purpose of this review is to highlight the structural and functional diversity of AATs, their diverse physiological roles in different tissues and organs, their wide-ranging implications in human diseases and the emerging strategies and tools that will be necessary to target AATs therapeutically.
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SLC1A2 (GLT-1) is the principal mediator of extracellular L-glutamate uptake, predominantly expressed in astrocytes but also present in excitatory neuronal terminals.
“SLC1A2 (also known as GLT-1) is the principal mediator of extracellular L-glutamate uptake, predominantly expressed in astrocytes but also present in excitatory neuronal terminals [106, 125].”
From Tau Ablation Rewires Brain Cell Programs in Health and Restores Function in Disease (2026) · cites this paper as [106]
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Hou, J., Zhou, Y., Cai, Z., Terekhova, M., Swain, A., Andhey, P. S., Guimaraes, R. M., Ulezko Antonova, A., Qiu, T., Sviben, S., et al. (2023) · Cell Reports · doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112293 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Tau Ablation Rewires Brain Cell Programs in Health and Restores Function in Disease
Chimal-Juárez, E., Patel, H., Jury-Garfe, N., Dabin, L. C., Vidal, R., Kim, J., & Lasagna-Reeves, C. A. (2026) · bioRxiv · doi:10.64898/2026.05.12.724684
- Authors
- Kandasamy, P., Gyimesi, G., Kanai, Y., & Hediger, M. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Bern (CH)
- The University of Osaka (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Kanai, Yoshikatsu
- Hediger, Matthias A.
- Venue
- Trends in Biochemical Sciences
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-10
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 752-789
- ISSN
- 0968-0004 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2889305184
- Cited by
- 484
- References
- 9
- Citations by year
- 2026: 44 · 2025: 87 · 2024: 66 · 2023: 67 · 2022: 67 · 2021: 64 · 2020: 60 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 1 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 3.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- boris.unibe.ch
- Licence
- Locations
- Trends in Biochemical Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Bern Open Repository and Information System (University of Bern) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Swiss Cancer League (KFS-3966-08-2016)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biochemistry › Amino Acid Enzymes and Metabolism
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer, Hypoxia, and Metabolism
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism
- Keywords
- amino acid transporters, neutral amino acid transporter, cancer metabolism, metabolic reprogramming, diabetes mellitus, obesity, neurotransmission, acid-base balance, energy metabolism
- MeSH terms
- Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors, Amino Acids, Disease, Epithelial Cells, Humans, Intestinal Mucosa, Kidney, Kidney Tubules, Proximal, Longevity, Protein Conformation, Stress, Physiological, Amino Acid Transport Systems
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