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The Role of Glutamine Synthetase in the Glutamine Independence in Mammary Tissue

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Glutamine in Clinical Nutrition

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

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Abstract

Glutamine addiction of cancer cells is thought to be an attractive way to prevent cancer growth and spreading. Although some regulatory factors of glutamine consumption are known, the actual cell-type specific regulatory mechanism hasn’t been explored yet. In breast tumors, there are two types of tumor cells that may be malignantly transformed from different cellular origins with dramatically different gene expression. We found distinct glutamine requirement in these two types of cells: luminal epithelial cells, as well as their corresponding transformed tumor cells, are more independent to extracellular glutamine than basal cells. This luminal- specific glutamine independent is regulated by its specific expression of glutamine synthetase, which can produce glutamine by combing glutamate and amine group. In response to glutamine deprivation, the expression of glutamine synthetase in luminal cells allow them to produce and export glutamine to the extracellular space to support the survival of glutamine addicted basal cells in a mechanism of metabolic symbiosis. By these observations, the glutamine deprivation therapy should be performed more efficiently with the help of glutamine synthetase inhibition.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, National Taiwan University, 1-1 Jen-Ai Road, Taipei, 10051, Taiwan

    Hsiu-Ni Kung Ph.D.

  2. Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, Center for Genomics and Computational Biology, Duke Medical Center, 101 Science Drive, DUMC 3382, CIEMAS 2177A, Durham, NC, USA

    Jen-Tsan Chi M.D., Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Hsiu-Ni Kung Ph.D.
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  2. Jen-Tsan Chi M.D., Ph.D.
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Hsiu-Ni Kung Ph.D. or Jen-Tsan Chi M.D., Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Intensive Care, Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals, London, United Kingdom

    Rajkumar Rajendram

  2. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences, School of Medicine, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom

    Victor R. Preedy

  3. Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom

    Vinood B. Patel

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Kung, HN., Chi, JT. (2015). The Role of Glutamine Synthetase in the Glutamine Independence in Mammary Tissue. In: Rajendram, R., Preedy, V., Patel, V. (eds) Glutamine in Clinical Nutrition. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1932-1_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1932-1_7

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-1931-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-1932-1

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