title: Amino acids and immune response: a role for cysteine, glutamine, phenylalanine, tryptophan and arginine in T-cell function and cancer?
abstract: While proteins are critical for immunity, T-cells constitute a critical component of adaptive immunity by clearing cancerous cells among other abnormal cells. However, cancer cells exhibit a potential to escape T-cell control by employing mechanisms not completely delineated. Interesting work has investigated how certain amino acids affect the proliferation rate of T-cells as well as their effectiveness in clearing tumors. The role of amino acids cysteine, glutamine, phenylalanine, tryptophan and arginine in immunomodulation and particularly regarding T-cell proliferation and activation is discussed. The redox balance is reported to affect T-cell proliferation via modulation of cysteine availability. In addition antigen presenting cells (APCs), similar to myeloid cells determine the availability of amino acids in the extracellular microenvironment affecting T-cell proliferation and activation. A better mechanistic understanding of T-cell function modulation via amino acid signaling or metabolic properties may be helpful towards optimization of adaptive immunity with implications for cancer prognosis and treatment.
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Institutes of Medicine, Immunobiology Laboratory, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA, 02115, USA, angelos_sikalidis@dfci.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Angelos K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Sikalidis
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D056747:Immunomodulation / Q000276:immunology*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids