ArticleGenes & development2019
MYC promotes tryptophan uptake and metabolism by the kynurenine pathway in colon cancer.
Article in Genes & development, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 144 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
144 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 277 citations in OpenAlex.
- The current status and prospects of gut microbiota combined with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in the treatment of colorectal cancer: a review.BMC gastroenterology · 2025Pooled it
- Randomized control trial of moderate dose vitamin D alters microbiota stability and metabolite networks in healthy adults.Microbiology spectrum · 2024Trial
- Metabolomic Profiling Identified Serum Metabolite Biomarkers and Related Metabolic Pathways of Colorectal Cancer.Disease markers · 2021Trial
- Metabolic reprogramming in colorectal cancer: Mechanisms and therapeutic insights.Genes & diseases · 2027Review
- Phenylalanine Transport through LAT1: Insights from Molecular Dynamics, Steered Molecular Dynamics, and Targeted Molecular Dynamics.The journal of physical chemistry. B · 2026Article
- Tryptophan metabolism: A hidden regulator of female reproductive health beyond fertility.Chinese medical journal · 2026Review
- Gut microbial genetic variations are associated with exploratory behavior via SNV-driven metabolic regulation in a sheep model.Science China. Life sciences · 2026Article
- Organoid models: Regulations and prospects for the development of investigational new drugs.Chinese medical journal · 2026Review
- Proteomic profiling revealed unique disease biology associated with 1q abnormalities in multiple myeloma.NPJ precision oncology · 2026Article
- Cholesterol synthases suppress metastasis and stemness through PDIA4/ACLY or SYVN1/SCD1 axis in advanced colorectal cancer.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Low-dose chronic exposure to hemin and kynurenine enhances metabolic adaptation in a colorectal cancer cell model.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- SLC1A5-mediated kynurenine metabolism drives AHR-FANCD2 axis to remodel chromatin and induce T cell exhaustion in lung adenocarcinoma.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2026Article
- Deciphering the MYCN-driven metabolic microenvironment of neuroblastoma.Trends in molecular medicine · 2026Review
- Microbiota utilization of intestinal amino acids modulates cancer progression and anticancer immunity.Cell host & microbe · 2026Article
- Development and validation of a prognostic model based on T cell signature genes in colon cancer using single-cell RNA sequencing.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2026Article
- Protein oxidation, glycation, and carbamylation in patients with adrenal masses.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2026Article
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor promotes the proliferation and aggressive progression of colorectal cancer under high-fat diet via activating INPP4B/AKT/SGK3 signaling pathway.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- The role of tryptophan-AhR signaling in the pathogenesis of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD): implications for therapeutic strategies.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Tryptophan metabolite atlas uncovers organ, age, and sex-specific variations.FEBS open bio · 2026Article
- Tumor-mediated remote regulation of peripheral blood platelets.Cell biology and toxicology · 2025Review
84 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Tumors display increased uptake and processing of nutrients to fulfill the demands of rapidly proliferating cancer cells. Seminal studies have shown that the proto-oncogene MYC promotes metabolic reprogramming by altering glutamine uptake and metabolism in cancer cells. How MYC regulates the metabolism of other amino acids in cancer is not fully understood. Using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), we found that MYC increased intracellular levels of tryptophan and tryptophan metabolites in the kynurenine pathway. MYC induced the expression of the tryptophan transporters SLC7A5 and SLC1A5 and the enzyme arylformamidase (AFMID), involved in the conversion of tryptophan into kynurenine. SLC7A5, SLC1A5, and AFMID were elevated in colon cancer cells and tissues, and kynurenine was significantly greater in tumor samples than in the respective adjacent normal tissue from patients with colon cancer. Compared with normal human colonic epithelial cells, colon cancer cells were more sensitive to the depletion of tryptophan. Blocking enzymes in the kynurenine pathway caused preferential death of established colon cancer cells and transformed colonic organoids. We found that only kynurenine and no other tryptophan metabolite promotes the nuclear translocation of the transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). Blocking the interaction between AHR and kynurenine with CH223191 reduced the proliferation of colon cancer cells. Therefore, we propose that limiting cellular kynurenine or its downstream targets could present a new strategy to reduce the proliferation of MYC-dependent cancer cells.
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