Medina M A
Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Málaga, Málaga, Spain.
J Nutr. 2001 Sep;131(9 Suppl):2539S-42S; discussion 2550S-1S. doi: 10.1093/jn/131.9.2539S.
Glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in the human body; it is essential for the growth of normal and neoplastic cells and for the culture of many cell types. Cancer has been described as a nitrogen trap. The presence of a tumor produces great changes in host glutamine metabolism in such a way that host nitrogen metabolism is accommodated to the tumor-enhanced requirements of glutamine. To be used, glutamine must be transported into tumor mitochondria. Thus, an overview of the role of glutamine in cancer requires not only a discussion of host and tumor glutamine metabolism, but also its circulation and transport. Because glutamine depletion has adverse effects for the host, the effect of glutamine supplementation in the tumor-bearing state should also be studied. This communication reviews the state of knowledge of glutamine and cancer, including potential therapeutic implications.
谷氨酰胺是人体中最丰富的游离氨基酸；它对正常细胞和肿瘤细胞的生长以及多种细胞类型的培养至关重要。癌症被描述为一个氮陷阱。肿瘤的存在会使宿主谷氨酰胺代谢发生巨大变化，从而使宿主氮代谢适应肿瘤对谷氨酰胺增加的需求。要被利用，谷氨酰胺必须转运到肿瘤线粒体中。因此，概述谷氨酰胺在癌症中的作用不仅需要讨论宿主和肿瘤的谷氨酰胺代谢，还需要讨论其循环和转运。由于谷氨酰胺耗竭对宿主有不利影响，因此也应研究在荷瘤状态下补充谷氨酰胺的效果。本文综述了谷氨酰胺与癌症的知识现状，包括潜在的治疗意义。
