Media coverage
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Media coverage
Title Scientists reveal structure of amino acid transporter involved in cancer Media name/outlet EurekAlert Country/Territory United States Date 05/06/2018 Description The human glutamine transporter ASCT2 is upregulated in several forms of cancer. It is also the docking platform for a wide range of pathogenic retroviruses. A team of University of Groningen scientists have used cryo-electron microscopy to elucidate the structure of the protein, which may generate leads for drug development. The results were published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology on 5 June. In human cells, the ASCT2 protein imports the amino acid glutamine and maintains the amino acid balance in many tissues. The amount of ASCT2 is increased in several types of cancer, probably because of an increased demand for glutamine. Furthermore, several types of retrovirus infect human cells by first docking on this protein. URL https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-06/uog-srs060518.php Persons Alisa Garaeva, Gerrit Oostergetel, Cornelius Gati, Albert Guskov, Cristina Batista Paulino, Dirk Slotboom