Li Xiao, Zhu Hongming, Sun Weixuan, Yang Xingru, Nie Qing, Fang Xuedong
Department of Gastrointestinal Colorectal and Anal Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, People's Republic of China.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, People's Republic of China.
Cancer Cell Int. 2021 Sep 9;21(1):479. doi: 10.1186/s12935-021-02121-5.
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), the most abundant cells in the tumor microenvironment, play an indispensable role in cancer initiation, progression, metastasis, and metabolism. The limitations of traditional treatments can be partly attributed to the lack of understanding of the role of the tumor stroma. For this reason, CAF targeting is gradually gaining attention, and many studies are trying to overcome the limitations of tumor treatment with CAF as a breakthrough. Glutamine (GLN) has been called a "nitrogen reservoir" for cancer cells because of its role in supporting anabolic processes such as fuel proliferation and nucleotide synthesis, but ammonia is a byproduct of the metabolism of GLN and other nitrogenous compounds. Moreover, in some studies, GLN has been reported as a fundamental nitrogen source that can support tumor biomass. In this review, we discuss the latest findings on the role of GLN and ammonia in the crosstalk between CAFs and cancer cells as well as the potential therapeutic implications of nitrogen metabolism.
癌症相关成纤维细胞（CAFs）是肿瘤微环境中数量最多的细胞，在癌症的发生、发展、转移和代谢中发挥着不可或缺的作用。传统治疗方法的局限性部分可归因于对肿瘤基质作用的认识不足。因此，靶向CAF逐渐受到关注，许多研究试图以CAF为突破口克服肿瘤治疗的局限性。谷氨酰胺（GLN）因其在支持诸如促进增殖和核苷酸合成等合成代谢过程中的作用，被称为癌细胞的“氮库”，但氨是GLN和其他含氮化合物代谢的副产物。此外，在一些研究中，GLN被报道为可支持肿瘤生物质的基本氮源。在本综述中，我们讨论了关于GLN和氨在CAFs与癌细胞相互作用中的作用的最新发现以及氮代谢的潜在治疗意义。
