Nutritional Stress Induced by Tryptophan-Degrading Enzymes Results in ATF4-Dependent Reprogramming of the Amino Acid Transporter Profile in Tumor Cells.

Timosenko E., Ghadbane H., Silk JD., Shepherd D., Gileadi U., Howson LJ., Laynes R., Zhao Q., Strausberg RL., Olsen LR., Taylor S., Buffa FM., Boyd R., Cerundolo V.

Tryptophan degradation is an immune escape strategy shared by many tumors. However, cancer cells' compensatory mechanisms remain unclear. We demonstrate here that a shortage of tryptophan caused by expression of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) resulted in ATF4-dependent upregulation of several amino acid transporters, including SLC1A5 and its truncated isoforms, which in turn enhanced tryptophan and glutamine uptake. Importantly, SLC1A5 failed to be upregulated in resting human T cells kept under low tryptophan conditions but was enhanced upon cognate antigen T-cell receptor engagement. Our results highlight key differences in the ability of tumor and T cells to adapt to tryptophan starvation and provide important insights into the poor prognosis of tumors coexpressing IDO and SLC1A5. Cancer Res; 76(21); 6193-204. ©2016 AACR.

DOI

10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-15-3502

Type

Journal article

Publication Date

2016-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

Volume

76

Pages

6193 - 6204

Total pages

11

Keywords

Activating Transcription Factor 4, Amino Acid Transport System ASC, Amino Acid Transport Systems, Cell Line, Tumor, Cellular Reprogramming, Humans, Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase, Minor Histocompatibility Antigens, Neoplasms, Tryptophan

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