Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41252380›Full record

ArticlePLoS biology2025

The blood-brain barrier regulates brain tumor growth through the SLC36 amino acid transporter Pathetic in Drosophila.

Qian Dong, Edel Alvarez-Ochoa, Phuong-Khanh Nguyen, Paul Orih, Natasha Fahey-Lozano, Hina Kosakamoto, Fumiaki Obata, Cyrille Alexandre, Louise Y Cheng

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Qian DongPeter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
Edel Alvarez-OchoaPeter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
Phuong-Khanh NguyenPeter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
Paul OrihPeter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
Natasha Fahey-LozanoPeter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
Hina KosakamotoLaboratory for Nutritional Biology, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.
Fumiaki ObataLaboratory for Nutritional Biology, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.
Cyrille AlexandreEpithelial Cell Interactions Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom.
Louise Y ChengPeter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-9712-4082

Funding

Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Tumors adapt their metabolism to sustain increased proliferation, rendering them particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in nutrient availability. However, the role of the tumor microenvironment in modulating sensitivity to nutrient restriction (NR) remains poorly understood. Using a Drosophila brain dedifferentiation neural stem cell (NSC) tumor model induced by Prospero (Pros) inhibition, we show that tumor sensitivity to NR is governed by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) glia. We found that the SLC36 amino acid transporter Pathetic (Path) regulates brain branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) levels. Under NR, while wild-type buffers against low nutrient levels by upregulating Path, tumor glia down-regulate Path. Furthermore, Path is specifically required by the tumor (but not wildtype) BBB; its downregulation causes reduced cell cycle progression of BBB glial cells and, in turn, restricts NSC tumor growth. Path influences BBB glial cell cycle via the BCAA-mTor-S6K pathway, and its expression is controlled by Ilp6 levels and the Insulin/PI3K pathway. Overexpression of Path is sufficient to counteract the inhibitory effects of NR on tumor growth. These findings suggest that Path levels at the glial niche BBB play a key role in determining tumor sensitivity to NR.

Indexed as

Amino Acid Transport SystemsBlood-Brain BarrierBrain NeoplasmsDrosophila ProteinsAmino Acids, Branched-ChainAnimalsBrainCell ProliferationDrosophila melanogasterNeural Stem CellsNeurogliaSignal TransductionTumor MicroenvironmentAmino Acids, Branched-ChainAmino Acid Transport SystemsDrosophila Proteins

Identifiers

PMID41252380
PMCPMC12626262

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.