Glutamine deprivation triggers NAGK-dependent hexosamine salvage — Campbell, 2021

The article "Glutamine deprivation triggers NAGK-dependent hexosamine salvage" published in eLife explores how cells respond to glutamine deprivation, which is known to alter cellular metabolism and promote cancer cell growth. The study found that when cells are deprived of glutamine, they undergo a metabolic shift that increases the production of the sugar molecule UDP-GlcNAc, which is involved in many cellular processes including glycosylation and protein synthesis. This shift occurs through a pathway involving the enzyme N-acetylglucosamine kinase (NAGK), which activates the hexosamine salvage pathway to produce UDP-GlcNAc. The authors suggest that targeting this pathway may be a potential therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment, as cancer cells often rely on glutamine metabolism to sustain their rapid growth and proliferation.

Sydney Campbell, Clementina Mesaros, Luke Izzo, Hayley Affronti, Michael Noji, Bethany E Schaffer, Tiffany Tsang, Kathryn Sun, Sophie Trefely, Salisa Kruijning, John Blenis, Ian A Blair, Kathryn E Wellen (2021) Glutamine deprivation triggers NAGK-dependent hexosamine salvage eLife 10:e62644 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.62644