glutamine tagged posts

Eczema, or atopic dermatitis, is an inflammatory skin condition that affects an estimated 30 percent of the U.S. population, mostly children and adolescents.NIAID

Researchers have identified mutations in a gene called CARD11 that lead to atopic dermatitis, or eczema, an allergic skin disease. Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and other institutions discovered the mutations in four unrelated families with severe atopic dermatitis and studied the resulting cell-signaling defects that contribute to allergic disease. Their findings, reported in Nature Genetics, also suggest that some of these defects potentially could be corrected by supplementation with the amino acid glutamine.

The scientists analyzed the genetic sequences of patients with severe atopic dermatitis and identified 8 individuals from four families with mutations in the CARD11 gene, which provides instructions for production of a cell-signaling protein of the same name. While some people with these mutations had other health issues, such as infections, others did not, implying that mutations in CARD11 could cause atopic dermatitis without leading to other medical issues often found in severe immune system syndromes.

Each of the four families had a distinct mutation that affected a different region of the CARD11 protein, but all the mutations had similar effects on T-cell signaling. With cell culture and other laboratory experiments, the researchers determined that the mutations led to defective activation of two cell-signaling pathways, one of which typically is activated in part by glutamine.

Growing cultured T cells from patients with CARD11 mutations with excess glutamine boosted mTORC1 activation, a key part of one of the affected pathways, suggesting the potential to partially correct the cell-signaling defects that may contribute to atopic dermatitis. The scientists now are planning a study to assess the effect of supplemental glutamine and leucine, another amino acid that activates mTORC1, in people with atopic dermatitis with and without CARD11 mutations.
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/scientists-identify-single-gene-mutations-lead-atopic-dermatitis

In vivo effect on HMVP2 tumor growth of treatment with CUR, UA, RES and their combinations. HMVP2 cell spheroids were injected subcutaneously into the flank of male FVB/N mice. Mice were fed ad libitum with semipurified AIN76A-based diet containing CUR, UA, RES or their combinations of two natural compounds. Body weight (a), food consumption (b), tumor volume (c) and tumor weight (d) are shown as mean ± SEM. One-way ANOVA with significance at p < 0.05 was used. Statistical significance is shown as different from control (a), CUR (b), UA (c) and RES (d)

When you dine on curry and baked apples, enjoy the fact that you are eating something that could play a role starving – or even preventing – cancer...

Fluorescent image of liver cells and chemical structure of glutamine. Credit: Kristina Schoonjans/EPFL

Scientists at EPFL have found a way to starve liver cancer cells by blocking a protein that is required for glutamine breakdown – while leaving normal cells intact. The discovery opens new ways to treat liver cancer. Primary liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with current treatments being very limited. Liver cancer cells are particularly addicted to the amino acid glutamine, which fuels their proliferation.

EPFL scientists have now found that a liver protein called “liver receptor homolog 1″ (LRH-1) is responsible for the digestion of glutamine into smaller molecules, which are avidly consumed by liver cancer cells...