Researchers have discovered a key role for an amino acid called aspartate in cancer cells’ ability to thrive in the lungs. The breakthrough, led by Prof. Sarah-Maria Fendt’s team at VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, found that aspartate is involved in triggering cancer’s aggressive growth and metastasis.
The study, published in Nature, revealed an alternative “translation program” in lung cancer cells, which results in a different set of proteins enabling cancer cells to thrive more easily in the lung environment. This program is triggered by an activating modification to a protein called eIF5A, which kickstarts translation.
Surprisingly, aspartate was not taken up by the cancer cells, but instead activated an NMDA receptor on the cell surface, leading to a signaling cascade that drives eIF5A hypusination and enhances cancer cells’ ability to change their environment. This mechanism is associated with higher cancer aggressiveness in lung metastases.
The study’s findings have significant clinical implications, as elevated expression of the NMDA receptor subunit binding aspartate was noted in human lung tumor samples from patients with metastatic breast cancer. The researchers suggest that targeting this mechanism may lead to new treatments for lung metastasis.
Source: https://scitechdaily.com/aspartate-sparks-cancers-leap-to-the-lungs