Cited by 213Amino Acid Enzymes and MetabolismCancer, Hypoxia, and MetabolismCancer Research and Treatments

The Diverse Functions of Non-Essential Amino Acids in Cancer

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Choi, Bo-Hyun, Coloff, Jonathan L.·2019·Cancers

Abstract

Far beyond simply being 11 of the 20 amino acids needed for protein synthesis, non-essential amino acids play numerous important roles in tumor metabolism. These diverse functions include providing precursors for the biosynthesis of macromolecules, controlling redox status and antioxidant systems, and serving as substrates for post-translational and epigenetic modifications. This functional diversity has sparked great interest in targeting non-essential amino acid metabolism for cancer therapy and has motivated the development of several therapies that are either already used in the clinic or are currently in clinical trials. In this review, we will discuss the important roles that each of the 11 non-essential amino acids play in cancer, how their metabolic pathways are linked, and how researchers are working to overcome the unique challenges of targeting non-essential amino acid metabolism for cancer therapy.

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Crossref · 10.3390/cancers11050675

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  • Nitrogen derived from glutamine is required for biosynthesis of molecules such as nucleotides, glucosamine, and NEAAs.

    “In addition, nitrogen derived from glutamine is required for the biosynthesis of molecules such as nucleotides, glucosamine, and NEAAs39.”

    From Glutamine reliance in cell metabolism (2020) · cites this paper as [39]

  • Glutamine acts as a precursor for synthesis of NEAAs including asparagine and arginine, implicated in mTORC1 activation.

    “Moreover, glutamine also acts as a precursor for the synthesis of various NEAAs, including asparagine and arginine, implicated in mTORC1 activation39.”

    From Glutamine reliance in cell metabolism (2020) · cites this paper as [39]

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Authors
Choi, B.-H., & Coloff, J. L.
Affiliations
University of Illinois Chicago (US)
Corresponding author
Coloff, Jonathan L.
Venue
Cancers
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2019-05-15
Volume
11
Issue
5
Pages
675
ISSN
2072-6694 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2945497873
Cited by
213
References
159
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 37 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 8
FWCI
2.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cancers (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
National Cancer Institute (K22CA215828)
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 › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biotechnology › Cancer Research and Treatments
Keywords
non-essential amino acids, cancer metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, redox state, antioxidant defense, post-translational modification, epigenetic modifications, cancer therapy

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